


Not Beyond Repair

by Magentas_Nightmare



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Abuse, Coming of Age, F/M, Juvenile Crime, Young Love, Youth Center
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-03-05 11:41:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 26,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18827977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magentas_Nightmare/pseuds/Magentas_Nightmare
Summary: Merle finds himself in an alternative youth detention facility after some teen antics gone wrong. He is in a stage where he doesn't really trust anyone and is desperate to get home to Daryl, who is still stuck with their abusive father. Can he learn to trust the man running this facility and is there a kindred spirit awaiting him there?





	1. Chapter 1

**~ Not Beyond Repair**

**Chapter 1**

Merle watched his court-appointed lawyer nod his head and smile as the decision came down. He would be spending the next three months in a detention center that was like a summer camp for young offenders. Merle would rather be back in juvie than a day camp for rejects.

“Can’t I just go back to juvenile hall like last time?” he whispered.

“This will show up better on your record, kid. Think about your future for Christ sakes.”

There was no future as far as Merle was concerned, he had only more shit to look forward to and he knew it. Failure and misery were in his blood.

He was taken to a small holding cell as the paperwork was processed and thought about his crime as he waited.

Stealing the car was his idea and so was getting drunk, but all of the events that set those decisions in motion weren’t up to him. Merle was raised in a home that left him no choice but to be broken. At the age of 17, he knew how ugly the world could be and how unfair it was for kids like him and Daryl.

The worst part of his stupid decision to be reckless was that Daryl was back home where everything was still shitty, and he couldn’t change it now.

When he was arrested, the first thing he saw in Daryl’s eyes was fear. He was losing his protector and that look drove Merle crazy. Not only was he failing himself, but he was failing Daryl.

            ##########

Merle was loaded up in the back of a grey van with blacked out windows and driven out to Lake Lanier the next morning bright and early at 6 am.

It was early June and he sat silently watching cars, trees, and clouds buzz past his view. He could be spending the summer driving around, partying and getting laid every night, but he’d have none of that.

Pulling into the gravel driveway of a facility that looked like a hunting lodge surprised him and he hated to admit that he liked the look of it.

A middle-aged man named Dale walked out to sign some paperwork and introduced himself as the lead ‘mentor’ of the facility.

“Merle Dixon.”

“Nice to meet you, Merle. Come on in.”

He picked up his one bag of clothing and followed the man inside.

“We only have 4 residents right now, but there may be more over the summer,” Dale began as Merle’s eyes settled on 4 youths about his age. “This is Gareth, Mark, Andy, and Jen.”

The three boys nodded to him, but the girl didn’t even look up from her book. Merle figured she was a troubled bitch and moved right along with getting situated. Jen had messy brown hair, brown eyes and a round face from what he could tell. She looked alright to him, but he needed a moody troubled girl like he needed a hole in the head.

“So, we have a lot of rules here, but if you can follow the rules, you’ll receive privileges.”

“Uh huh,” Merle nodded.

He’d heard all of this before, it was nothing new. Merle was given a list of duties to be completed every day and told that he’d be participating in daily group therapy sessions and it all sounded like a Dickensian nightmare, a prison in an old story, in a hopeless place.

The cabin had looked at first like the kind of place a man could relax and really find himself, but it was all window dressing in Merle’s mind, a bait and switch.

Sure, he didn’t deserve a vacation in their eyes, but kids from abusive homes were rarely separated from what they endured. They lived ugly lives, learned ugly lessons and acted in ugly ways but kids like Merle were always seen as the cause of their own downfall. Merle knew it was bullshit, but nobody would ever listen. Why would this place be any different?

Looking around the room at the other ‘inmates’ he could tell from their refusal to make eye contact that they’d all been there too, they all knew what it was like to be blamed for their position in the world.

Dale took him to a room he would actually have to himself and he was surprised by that.

“So, this is the kind of place a guy can actually jerk off in peace?” Merle muttered.

“Feel free. What you do is your own business.”

He had been expecting a harsh condemnation of his language and was almost looking forward to it, but Dale wasn’t fazed.

“Jen is next door and she has some rough nights, so just come down to my room and let me know if she gets loud. OK?”

Merle frowned and wondered what the hell Dale meant by loud, but he nodded anyway.

“Supper is at 5 pm so come down when you get settled,” Dale smiled and then he was gone.

Merle tossed his bag on the floor and lay back on a double bed in the center of a room that looked too nice for him. There was the oak bed, and oak dresser and a chair by the window with a small desk, Merle had never seen anything like it.

His room back home was plain white walls, popcorn ceilings and always had a damp feeling to it. The duplex he called home was rough, to say the least, and when the roof wasn’t leaking, there was often an infestation of mice or some other plague. He hated his home and would rather die than go back there. In 5 months, he would be 18 and out of this current detention center and he’d never go home again. Merle was planning to take Daryl with him when he got out, but he wasn’t revealing that plan to anyone.

Merle lay back on his bed for a while, able to think in a relaxed fashion for the first time in months, and only wandered down the open wooden staircase when he smelled something good to eat.

Dale was at the stove, mixing something in a giant cauldron-like pot as the girl set the table and still didn’t look at him.

“The food any good in this joint?” he asked Mark, at least he thought his name was Mark.

“The best I ever had in a place like this. I was in a place where they had bugs in the flour once. Fuckin’ gross,” he laughed.

“Damn. I’ve been in some places like that,” Andy agreed.

“The food is good here,” Gareth chimed in. “Dale is a soft touch who babies us.”

The last part was spoken as a whisper but apparently, nothing escaped Dale’s keen ear.

“I don’t baby you, I just believe in treating human beings like human beings.”

The girl placed a clean glass in front of Merle’s plate and filled it with water. He got a better look at her then and could see that she was hiding a nice body under her hooded sweater and loose jeans.

“Thanks.”

Jen didn’t answer, and he wondered what the hell her problem was.

The food was better than anything Merle ever received at home. Merle was offered chicken stew with biscuits and he couldn’t help moaning out loud at the table.

“Damn. You make this?” he asked Dale.

“Nothing to it…I could teach you if you want.”

“That’s woman’s work, ain’t it?” he chuckled.

“You wanna live off shitty take out all your life?” Dale countered. “A man who can cook eats like a king every night whether he’s got a partner or not. Right?”

“I guess so,” Merle answered.

Dale was one of those new-age men, a man who believed in rehabilitation and second chances…he was a soft touch, but maybe that would be nice for a change. Maybe the place wasn’t so bad after all.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

_Planets of the Universe - Stevie Nicks_

**<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjKoWFh3oj0> **

* * *

 

**Chapter 2**

Merle took a long hot shower as he tried to process where he was and how the whole place worked. Over supper, he learned that Mark and Andy were at the end of their time at the cabin and soon it would be only himself, Gareth and Jen. He planned to become closer to Gareth since Jen wasn’t saying a word. 

When he stepped out of the shower to dry off and look in the mirror, he heard music coming from down the hall and tried to place it.

 

_**And the planets of the universe go their way** _   
_**Not astounded by the sun or the moon, or by the day** _   
_**You and I will simply disappear out of sight** _   
_**But I'm afraid soon there'll be no light…** _

__

Jen’s room was filled with Stevie Nicks wailing of beautifully somber contemplation. Merle glanced into her room as he passed and observed her laying on the bed with her hands resting on her belly. She looked almost dead with her distant eyes focused on the ceiling overhead and no expression on her face.

Whatever happened to her, Merle didn’t feel like he had it in him to deal with it, so he decided to keep his distance. There was sadness in her eyes, and rage, but he had enough of his own pain without taking on anyone else’s.

That night, he was about to doze off when he heard something that sounded almost like erotic moaning and he stiffened in his bed, in more ways than one.

“Mmmmm….no. Uhhhh….mmmm…”

Merle sat up and looked over at the wall he shared with Jen.

“What the hell?” he whispered and slowly got up out of bed.

“NO!” Jen screamed out of nowhere.

Merle almost pissed himself when she screamed out loud and he was sure she was being murdered.

He forgot all about Dale’s warning and opened the door of her bedroom to find her writhing on the bed with her eyes closed. Dressed only in panties and a t-shirt, she was clawing at an invisible force, her face strained with an expression of agony. There was a dim light coming in from the hallway and he could just make out the scene before him.

“Jen?” he muttered and then was pushed out of the way by Dale.

Merle watched as Dale entered the room and covered the girl with a sheet, not waking her up but also making sure she didn’t fall off the bed.

“She’s OK,” Dale insisted. “Did she wake you?”

“What the hell’s wrong with her? She crazy or something?”

“It’s trauma…something about her home life, but she won’t talk to anyone about it. She rarely speaks at all.”

“Why is she here?” Merle asked.

The girl was clinging to a pillow by this point and panting softly to herself, so Dale walked Merle into the hallway.

“You’ll find out anyway, so I may as well tell you myself. She attacked her father with a vacuum cleaner.”

“Huh?”

“She broke his jaw. Jen was in another facility before this and she was allowed to come here after I wrote a letter to the court. It’s pretty obvious that she’s been abused, but she won’t tell anyone about it and if you confront her, she denies the whole thing.”

“Jesus…” Merle muttered.

“Try to be understanding…she’s doing the best she can.”

“OK.”

Merle went back to bed but heard more panting and whining throughout the night. Whatever she was going through sounded much too heavy for him to get involved in. All he wanted was to serve his time, get back to the world and take Daryl with him. There would be nothing the old man could say about it since he’d be 18 soon and they’d finally be free.

/

In the morning, Merle was on laundry folding duty for almost two hours after breakfast. He folded towels, sheets, and the clothing of everyone in the facility. Jen’s panties were boring and covered in flowers, they looked like little girl panties, so they did nothing for him sexually. He watched her scrubbing out the oven on her hands and knees with yellow rubber gloves on and she still hadn’t said a word to him.

He only heard her voice for the first time when Dale came in to speak to her. Merle listened intently to the conversation.

“How are you feeling today?”

“Tired…I didn’t sleep well.”

“I’m sorry, Hun. Do you need something tonight?”

Merle presumed she was being offered a sleeping pill.

“Maybe.”

“Still don’t want to talk about it?”

“Nothing to talk about…it’s just nightmares.”

Merle didn’t even know her, and he could see that it was bullshit. This girl was reliving something horrible at night.

/

Later that day, Merle was out in the backyard of the cabin chopping wood when the other guys came around to check him out. They asked questions about why he was there and if he had any smokes or anything else of interest.

“Nah, I couldn’t get anything past the strip search,” he sighed.

“We’re both outta here in three days and you and Gareth are stuck with Wednesday Addams in there,” Andy laughed.

Merle listened to them all laugh about her pet name and couldn’t help wondering how none of them had gotten her to talk. He had assumed that she just wouldn’t speak to him because he was the new guy, but apparently, she wasn’t speaking to anyone.

“None of you talk to her?” he asked.

“She’s batshit crazy. Tried to kill her old man and screams like a banshee every damn night,” Mark groaned.

“Must be a reason for it,” Merle mused. “People don’t usually freak out all night for no reason.”

“She won’t tell anyone why so it’s anyone’s guess,” Gareth shrugged. “She’s a bitch anyway. Who cares?”

Merle looked up and saw Jen glaring down at them from the second floor. He made the effort of smiling at her before she walked away from the window without returning the favour.

“You’re barking up the wrong tree there,” Gareth chuckled. “I personally think she’s a dyke or something.”

“Just because she don’t want you?” Andy smirked.

“Fuck you, Andy.”

“She almost broke his face when he tried to touch her the first night he got here,” Andy laughed.

“What you doing touching her anyway?” Merle asked.

“I was playing around, Merle. Jesus! It ain’t my fault that the girl is fuckin’ nuts. I heard she tried to kill herself before coming here. The girl is certifiable.”

Merle still didn’t want to get involved but he could sympathize with her in a way. They all thought they had her figured out and it was bullshit. Merle was getting the impression that maybe only he and Jen knew what the dark side of abuse was really like. Maybe the other guys there were just brats who couldn’t obey orders and had nice home lives. Maybe Jen was the one he could actually connect with; he could tell that she knew what he and Daryl knew about the world.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Merle found himself in a therapy session with the rest of the group in the living room after supper; he was unimpressed. School counsellors had tried to lure him into therapy in the past and it was agony.  Mark and Andy were pros at therapy and said all the things that someone like Dale wanted to hear. They spoke about turning their lives around and embracing their second chances etc. Merle almost applauded when they were finished but it wasn’t going to pay to be a dick anymore. If it had been two years ago, he would have done it, but he had plans now. He and Daryl were going to make a break for it once and for all.

“Jen? Is there anything you’d like to say tonight?” Dale asked gently.

“No thanks,” she answered to nobody’s surprise.

“I wish you would say something, dear, but I won’t force you.”

“I have nothing to say. I’m fine.”

Merle pulled a skeptical expression by accident and she reacted immediately.

“You got something to say to me?”

Merle was stunned at her instant anger and felt her brown eyes tearing him a new one from across the coffee table.

“No.”

“Then don’t start with me!” she shot back.

“Ooooooooh!” the other boys chimed in. “Wednesday’s gunnin’ for ya, Merle.”

“Hey!” Dale jumped in. “Don’t call her that!”

Jen got to her feet and looked down at the three boys who liked to call her names.

“Wednesday Addams is not a girl you fuck with, she’ll bury anyone who crosses her in a heartbeat…maybe I am a little like her after all,” she growled and stomped up the stairs.

Merle liked her from that moment on and it dawned on him that getting involved with her in some way was inevitable.

He figured he’d play along and said all the right things to make Dale happy. He was from a bad home, but he was going to break the cycle of abuse and he knew that he could turn over a new leaf.

Merle did know all that, but in the heat of the moment, it felt good to get shit-faced and do stupid things. He was beyond crying about the beatings by then, but he liked to get the anger out in other ways. Now Merle would drink, take some drugs on occasion or fuck any willing girl he could, and he’d forget all about his stupid father for a while. Jen trying to kill her father was a clear indication that she had daddy issues as well.

Merle asked Dale about calling Daryl and was surprised to hear that he could call home whenever he wanted to.

“This ain’t like other jails,” Merle chuckled.

“I opened this place after working in those ‘other jails’ because I got sick of how they run. You can’t help kids if you treat them like criminal adults. A bunch of the kids I deal with were made the way they are by a system that failed them.”

“I could see that,” Merle answered.

There was something about Dale he really liked. Dale didn’t look at him or the other kids there like they were garbage to be hidden away from the world. He saw potential in them and that was new to Merle.

He was led to Dale’s office where he was left alone to use the telephone to call his brother. The level of trust was almost ridiculous to Merle, but nobody seemed to be betraying Dale’s trust. There was even a gun cabinet behind the desk, Merle wondered what kind of firearms he owned and if the hunting in the area was good.

It hit him harder than expected when he heard Daryl’s voice and he tried to sound strong for him.

“You hang in there cause I got plans for us, brother. I’m gonna get a job and an apartment and you won’t have to live with dad anymore when I get out of here.”

“You swear?”

“Of course, man. No worries. I’ll be 18 soon, you’ll be 16 in a couple of months too, and he won’t have fuck all to say about it.”

“He’s a bit calmer with you gone but he’s still drunk every damn night.”

“Just stay out of his way, Daryl. Keep quiet and just avoid him when he’s angry. I’ll be out before you know it and I’ll get you out of there.”

“Thanks, Merle. I’ll tough it out. So, what’s it like there anyway?”

“It’s OK. A little hippy-dippy, but it’s really nice compared to some of the other shit holes I stayed in.”

“Good…I miss you.”

“It’s gonna be OK, Daryl. Soon it’ll be just you and me and you’ll never have to see that prick again. OK?”

“OK. Call me again when you can.”

“I will. I think I can call you every night here if I watch my manners.”

“Yeah? That’s awesome.”

“Yeah. Just keep holding on and I’ll fix all this shit…and I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?”

“I went and got myself thrown in one of these places again when I know you’re stuck back there alone.”

“I know it ain’t on purpose, Merle. Don’t worry about it.”

“Thanks. I’ll try to call you tomorrow.”

“I’ll be here.”

/

Merle went outside the next morning to chop wood again after explaining to Dale that he liked being outdoors and didn’t mind hard labour.

Jen walked passed him to the end of the yard where a garden full of newly sprouted vegetable plants were beginning to emerge. She turned on the hose to water the garden and looked over at him a few times as he chopped wood. Merle figured that she thought her hair was hiding her glances at him, but it wasn’t.

Apparently, there was a normal girl hiding under all that rage, a girl with a sex drive.

She couldn’t hide her body under the many layers of clothing and Merle was undressing her with his eyes from the start. Perhaps it was crude, but she was the only girl around for miles and he was the kind of 17-year-old who could happily fuck every day of the week. Merle pulled off his shirt because subtlety wasn’t really his thing and continued to chop wood. He was in good shape and he knew she wouldn’t be able to resist a look or two.

Jen turned off the water after taking care of the garden and proceeded to pull some weeds on her hands and knees for 10 agonizing minutes as Merle stared at her ass. Maybe she was playing the game as well. She got up when she was finished and walked over to sit on a plastic garden chair and surprised him by watching him chop wood.

“Hey,” she said finally. “About before…I didn’t mean to lose it on you like that.”

Merle stopped chopping for a moment and rested his foot on the chopping block to take a break.

“She speaks,” he winked.

“Are you one of those guys?” she asked with a little skepticism in her voice.

“What kind of guy is that?” he asked.

“The kind of guy who tries to get with every girl he speaks to,” she clarified.

“I guess I am to be honest. I like pretty girls, so shoot me.”

“At least you’re honest about it,” she smiled.

“Don’t you like guys?”

“So, you think I’m a dyke too?” she scowled.

“Nope. I was just teasin’. I bet you’re a wildcat.”

“If I could find a guy that’s trustworthy, I might think about it,” she shuddered and then he gleaned a faraway look in her eye.

“We aren’t all assholes. Keep your eyes open and you’ll find a good one.”

“Are you a good one?” she asked, and he found himself being thrown off his guard.

“Me? I don’t know. I run around with girls too much, but I never found one who wants more than that so far.”

“Interesting.”

“Oh yeah? You interested?” he grinned.

“I said interesting, not interested,” she answered but he could see something playful in her eyes. She wasn’t being a bitch; she was actually flirting in her own little way.

Jen seemed to realize that she was opening up to him and instantly went back into her shell.

“Well, I should go. See ya later.”

“Yeah, see ya,” he smirked.

At 17, Merle Dixon was tall, lean and strong, with a devilish grin…it was only a  matter of time before she came around wanting more and he couldn’t wait. One minute he wanted to save her and hold her hand and then next he wanted to ravish her, such was the mind of a teenage boy.

Falling for Jen would turn out to be the most challenging journey of Merle Dixon’s young life.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A few days passed, and Merle found that he was able to speak to Dale easily. He wasn’t judged for swearing or generally being himself. Dale told him he wasn’t easily offended by words and that intention mattered more than anything else.

Mark and Andy were released, and Dale was trying to bring more troubled teens into his program, but it was an uphill climb for him. Judges in the district were hesitant to send kids to ‘summer camp’, they only saw future criminals when they looked at kids like Merle. Dale saw kids who could be saved from their past, saved from themselves, and his optimism never failed. Merle got a few more short conversations out of Jen, but nothing too in-depth. At least she was making an effort and that was a good thing. He didn’t like to see someone as damaged as himself, it was like looking in a mirror at his own reflection when he used to cry.

/

They were all sitting down to a BBQ dinner, a week into Merle’s time there when Gareth injured himself with a kitchen knife while attempting to prepare a salad.

“God damn it! Dale!” he screamed from inside the cabin.

Jen and Merle ran in with Dale to see a tea towel covered in bright red blood and a terrified look on Gareth’s face.

“I think I damn near cut my fuckin’ finger off!”

“Come here,” Dale insisted and pulled back the towel to locate the cut to have a look at it. He applied strong pressure to it and then gathered his keys and jacket to take Gareth to the hospital.

“Can I trust you two for a couple of hours if I take him to the ER?” Dale asked with pleading eyes.

“Yeah,” Merle nodded. “We won’t pull any shit.”

“We’ll be fine,” Jen insisted. “We promise.”

Nobody was about to screw Dale over when he treated them like his own children. Merle watched as Dale loaded Gareth up in his car and drove off down the road.

/

Being alone in the cabin with Jen was both exciting and scary and he wondered what she’d be like with nobody else around.

When he got back to the kitchen, she was washing the blood from the counter.

“That was a hell of a cut,” Merle said, just to make conversation.

“He’ll need stitches for sure.”

“Stitches hurt like hell,” Merle recalled.

He had his share of stitches in his life, twice due to his father’s rages.

“So…” she said as she looked around the room in search of something to say.

Merle liked her round face and her big brown eyes, but he knew that she wasn’t like other girls; Jen was damaged just like him. She wasn’t the kind of girl he could just lure into bed with his silly jokes.

“Do you just wanna be alone, or do you want to watch a movie or something?” he asked.

He could tell that she was considering it carefully and that the reality of them being alone made her extra cautious.

“I won’t try nothing,” he added.

She didn’t answer, she just walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. Merle had no idea how to play it with her, it was like sitting next to a bomb that could go off at any time.

“What kind of movies do you like?” he asked as he scanned the movie collection on the TV stand.

“Anything. You pick,” she answered.

Merle hated when people said that, he had no idea what to pick for a teenage girl.

He settled on a romantic movie because women liked those, and she seemed to find it cute.

“You really wanna see this?” she asked.

“Sure. Demi Moore is a smoke show,” he teased.

The Scarlet Letter was just as he expected; romantic, old-timey, sappy.

Half an hour into the movie, Jen sat with a bowl of strawberries on her lap with only the light of the fireplace filling the room. Merle wanted to lay her out on the couch and make out a little, but he still didn’t know exactly what her issues were. She could end up snapping on him and calling the cops for all he knew.

She was so close but still so far and when he edged a little closer, she eyed him with trepidation.

“Sorry,” he blurted.

“Merle, I swear I’m too fucked up for you…you don’t want me.”

“Why not?”

“Cause my life is a fucked-up mess and you probably don’t need that shit,” she said plainly.

“My life is fucked up too,” he answered.

“Just trust me. You do not want to play ‘who’s life is more fucked-up?’ with me cause I’ll win.”

Merle was sick of being stone-walled. If she didn’t want to talk then he couldn’t force her.

“Fine.”

“You think you want to know, but you don’t.”

“Fine.”

“Merle…”

“Look, I know what it’s like to be from a family where you can’t talk about your home life. I know what it’s like to hide shit. I have scars too. My dad has been beating me, telling me I’m a worthless piece of shit and whipping me with a belt since I was a little kid. You wanna tell someone what happened just to get it out then tell me, or don’t…it’s up to you.”

“You won’t want to be anywhere near me if I do,” she said finally.

“Try me.”

“I had an abortion last year.”

“You ain’t the first teen girl to get knocked up, Jen. I don’t fault you for that-”

“It was my stepdad’s…”

“Huh?”

“Don’t make me say it again.”

Merle pictured it for a second, a parent doing something like that to his own step-daughter and he felt sick.

Jen got up and started to walk up the stairs.

“Where you going?” he asked.

“Your face says it all, Merle. You’re disgusted, and I don’t blame you.”

“I ain’t disgusted by you,” he shot back. “I want to kill your stepdad, but I’m not disgusted by you, Jen.”

She stopped on the stairs and he could see something in her eyes, a mixture of disbelief and pure happiness all at once.

“You aren’t?”

“Hell no. Come back and watch the movie,” he insisted, patting the couch beside him.

“Merle…”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Jen, you ain’t got nothin’ to be ashamed of.”

/

She was frozen for a moment, standing on the stairs, biting her lip, trying to decide if she could really believe the guy in front of her. Jen felt every feeling on earth at once: elation, fear, excitement, anger. How did he know how to get to her? This cocky, good-looking guy she barely knew had her willing to talk and it scared her.

“Come on,” he repeated, and Jen couldn’t say no.

She walked over to him slowly and sat back down. Merle grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and handed it to her then.

“Get comfy, this romantic crap ain’t half bad,” he smirked.

In only one evening, she felt like a typical teenage girl again.

Nobody knew about the rape except Merle and he took it as easily as a chat about the weather.

He smelled like earth and fresh air and she imagined kissing him. Every sexual thought she had eventually reminded her of the abuse and she hated that. She couldn’t have a single fantasy without the dark cloud of her past overshadowing it and she had no idea how to get it to stop. Still, the way Merle was making her feel couldn’t be denied. She felt like she could possibly trust him, and that was huge for her.

/

By ten o’clock, Merle was sure about her. She smirked at the sex scenes, got emotional at the sad parts, and sighed like a typical girl when the happy ending came.

“That was so good…Gary Oldman is so gorgeous,” she grinned.

Merle waited until she looked at him to tell her how pretty she was when she smiled, and she blushed bright red.

“Merle…”

“Don’t worry, I ain’t about to try anything. I just wanted you to know that. Does it make you uncomfortable?”

“No.”

“I know you’re trying to hide in all those layers and not doing the hair and make-up thing, and I get it, but you still look real pretty to me. I prefer a girl lookin’ natural anyway.”

He watched as a few little tears rose up and then rolled down her cheeks.

“Sorry, that’s just such a nice thing to say…I wasn’t expecting it.”

“Jen, I really like you.”

“I like you too, but I’m still so messed up about everything…I don’t know if I can do anything you’d want me to.”

“Don’t do anything you don’t want to. I never took it slow before, maybe it’s time I did.”

“Being with me won’t be easy…if it gets too hard, I’ll understand,” she answered softly.

“I’ve been through the wringer too, Jen. It would take a hell of a lot to scare me away.”

She smiled like she couldn’t believe he was real, and Merle decided then and there that she was the one. None of the other girls could ever understand his life, but Jen had been there, and maybe they could get through it all together.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got busy yesterday so this is a day late.   
> Thanks for reading! Teagan xoxo

** Chapter 5 **

Dale and Gareth returned just as she was still wiping her eyes and Merle wished so bad that they had more time alone. Jen was supposed to be released two weeks before him, so they still had the whole summer together. In that time, Merle was planning to make Jen his and he was going to take it as slow as she wanted to. Merle finally wanted a girl that was a challenge, he wanted to fight for her.

That night, Merle heard no restlessness from her and wanted to believe that it was his presence that made her feel safer. A girl that wasn’t just ready to jump at his beck and call intrigued him. Merle wanted to be with her, but he was willing to wait for it for once. He wanted her to ask him for it when the time came.

/

Gareth stayed in his room most of the following day. He had 4 stitches in his hand and had been given some decent painkillers for the discomfort.

“Everything OK with Jen last night?” Dale asked when Merle got off the phone with Daryl that morning.

“Yeah, it was fine.”

It didn’t seem like a good idea to tell Dale about his interest in Jen, so he didn’t.

“I wouldn’t have left her with just anyone, but I have a good feeling about you, Merle.”

“You’re the first person to say that to me,” he chuckled.

“You don’t seem like the same person who was charged with theft and drunk driving.”

“I get a little stupid sometimes…life gets frustrating.”

“Where are you going after this?” Dale asked.

“Gonna get a job somewhere and find a place for me and my kid brother. I have to get him out of that house.”

Merle wanted to kick himself then, he hadn’t planned to tell anyone about the plan, but Dale made him feel like he could be honest.

“Your dad is a problem,” Dale stated in a tone that didn’t indicate surprise.

Dale had read the files, of course, it was his father.

“Yeah. I just need to get him out of there and then it’ll be good.”

“What do you plan to do for work?”

“Anything I can find. I can work on cars or pump gas, I don’t care what I have to do.”

“How old is your brother again?”

“He’s almost 16. Daryl has a chance if I can just get him out of there. He’s a good kid.”

“Do you mind if I look into getting you guys some assistance for when you get out?”

“Assistance?”

“Some extra money, maybe I can help set you up with an apartment and a job. I know people in the city.”

“Are you shittin’ me?” Merle exclaimed.

“No. I don’t wanna see you back in court and I think you can do this, Merle.”

“You’re something else, Dale.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should.”

/

Dale asked Merle what he wanted to do to stay busy, and he liked having a choice. The therapy was mandatory, but the rest of his time was free to fill with whatever he wanted. Dale had a theory that hard work in the fresh air could cure a man of almost any demon. His family had been farmers and Dale grew up being outdoors from dusk till dawn.

Merle decided to work on a fence to protect the garden from animals and Jen watched from the deck where she was peeling potatoes in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

It was the most skin he’d seen since he got there, and he liked the look of her pale skin and her shapely legs.

“You lookin’ at me, girl?” he teased.

“You lookin’ at me, boy?”

“Boy? You gotta be kiddin’ me! I’m all man,” he cackled.

Jen laughed then, and he decided he was going to make her laugh as often as possible. A strange dual feeling of extreme affection for Jen began to grow at the same time as burning hatred for her father. The more he found himself liking her, the more he thought about hurting the man who damaged her so deeply.

Dale put on some music that could be heard blaring through the cabin and Merle smiled. It was surreal to be in a place where nobody was screaming, beating anyone or getting high. A beer would have gone down nicely, but he found that the need to relax wasn’t there the way it normally was. This was the kind of home he wanted for Daryl, he wanted to be like Dale.  Merle was happy for the first time in his life and all he wanted was to get closer to Jen.

“Hey!” he called over to her.

“Yeah?”

“Are we allowed to go for a walk around the area here?” he asked.

“Yeah, I think so. Mark and Andy used to go out for hours.”

“You wanna go for a walk with me when I’m finished up here?”

“Sure.”

/

Merle went inside to wash up after he finished the posts for the fence and asked Dale about the walk idea. Jen was up in her room changing and he hoped like hell they’d be allowed some time alone.

“Are you and Jen a thing or something?” Dale queried

“I don’t know, man…is it OK if we are?”

“The thing is, she’s been through some stuff and she won’t even talk about it to anyone,” Dale warned.

“She talked to me.”

“She did?”

“Yeah, but I can’t really say anything, or she won’t trust me anymore.”

“I get it. Is she in any immediate danger? Can you at least tell me that?” Dale asked.

“No. I would tell you if she was.”

“If she’s ever willing, my door is always open to talk. I know a great female counsellor she could speak to as well if that’s easier.”

Merle nodded, wondering how he could drop it into conversation with her, but Dale didn’t push it.

“Watch out for her out there and be back in two hours. This area ends where the chain link fence begins, there’s 5 acres of land and trails around here.”

“Sounds good. We ain’t gonna take off or anything, Dale.”

“I’m not worried about you two…I’m glad she has someone to talk to.”

“Didn’t think it would be me, but I’ll take it,” Merle laughed.

/

“Can we go?” Jen asked when she came back down the stairs.

“Yep. You ready?”

“Yeah.”

Merle picked up a stick along the way and beat the tall grass with it as they left the main area of the cabin.

“So…” she began.

“So?” he answered.

“You said you go out with a lot of girls?”

“Yeah, but I’m thinking all that shit was just a waste of my time. You been out with some guys? How old are you anyway?”

“Just turned 16,” she answered.

“Damn, you’ve had a shit time of it already, hey? That sucks.”

“I survived. I just don’t want to go back home after this.”

“You’ll have to tell someone then, won’t you?”

“I don’t want to tell anyone that shit,” she sighed. “I still can’t believe I told you.”

“You didn’t tell the doctor when you had the uh…”

He didn’t really want to repeat the word abortion if he didn’t have to.

“I just told them I got knocked up and handed over the money, they didn’t push me for specifics.”

“Nobody else you can go live with?”

“No. My mom is dead, and all her family is in Jersey…I don’t even really know them.”

“My mom is dead too…house fire when I was younger,” he sighed.

“Guess we have some things in common,” she noted.

I’ll figure something out, Jen. You won’t have to go back there.”

“How?”

“You leave it to me, OK?”

She stopped for a moment along the path and looked at him strangely.

“What?” he asked.

“But you only just met me. Why would you help me like this?”

“Cause I like you and I ain’t gonna let your asshole father touch another hair on your head, do you hear me?”

“Damn,” she grinned.

“Am I being too possessive?” he grinned.

“Yeah, but I really like it.”

“Come on,” he called back and held out his hand to her.

/

Jen walked next to Merle for over an hour, till their hands were both sweaty. An ache of need began to burn inside her that afternoon. Merle was everything she wanted and everything she thought she’d never find.

The grounds of the facility included access to a small section of beach on Lake Lanier and a clearing with a picnic table, so they stopped to take a break.

She loved that after telling him what happened, he didn’t look at her differently. Jen still didn’t look at herself the way she used to.

Merle sat across the picnic table from her and played with her fingers absent-mindedly for a moment before speaking.

“I’m not the hand-holding type,” he commented.

“Do you not like it?”

“No, it turns out I do. I just never did it before.”

“You’re different,” she smiled.

“So are you…maybe we both are.”

“Maybe.”

“Other people don’t get it…it’s a whole other world when you grow up in a home like we did, hey?”

“You got that right,” she sighed. “I know I need to tell someone about what happened if I don’t want to be sent back…but not everyone will take it like you did.”

“Think people will judge you?”

“I killed a baby, Merle.”

“A baby you didn’t consent to, that’s a whole different thing, Jen.”

“I guess so.”

“Nobody with half a brain would blame you for that, Jen.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Course I am, you didn’t do nothing anybody else wouldn’t have done.”

Jen smiled then and felt a warmth radiating toward her that was unfamiliar. In that moment she wanted him to kiss her, but she was afraid of how far things would go…she didn’t know where her limits were.

Merle looked down at his watch and realized they’d have to get going to be back on time. Jen wasn’t about to mess around with him in the woods that day, so he wanted to stay on Dale’s good side for the day when maybe she would.

“We better head back,” he said as he pulled his legs out from under the table.

Merle held his hand out to her as she got up as well and she grinned.

“We may as well make this hand-holding a thing now, hey?”

“Yeah,” she answered and took his hand.

The sun peeked down at them through the treetops and everything felt right for the both of them, it was like being on an entirely different planet. This wasn’t the world they knew from past experience, but that world was still out there, and they couldn’t hide from it forever.

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Gareth finally emerged from his room after whining about his injured hand sufficiently and Merle couldn’t help but find it humorous.

“You gonna make it, man?” he teased.

“It hurt like a motherfucker, Merle. You calling me a pussy or something?” he growled.

“I’m joking around. Chill out.”

“What’s up with you and Jen anyway? she’s actually saying words.”

“She’s warming up to me,” he winked.

“Get the fuck outta here, really?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with that?”

“Could have sworn she wasn’t into guys.”

“She just needs a little time and I ain’t rushing her.”

“Good luck with that,” Gareth shrugged. “She seems like more trouble than it’s worth to me but suit yourself.”

“Why are you here anyway?” Merle asked.

“You first,” Gareth retaliated.

“Got drunk, stole a car, crashed it like an idiot. You?”

“Some girl was talking shit about me assaulting her at a party. It’s bullshit though, she wanted it.”

“What the hell?”

“You judging me, car thief?”

“Did this girl tell you no?”

“Look, she was at a high school party, so I assumed she was old enough. She was drunk as fuck and all over me like a dirty shirt. It ain’t my fault she was there begging for it, people should maybe try doing some actual parenting these days.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” Merle added.

“She said no like most girls say no, she didn’t even mean it. The girl was moaning like she was into it and that’s what actually matters.”

“How old was she?”

“Fuck off, Merle. You acting like some kind of angel or something?”

“You’re pretty good at dodging questions, Gareth.”

“They said she was 13, but I’m telling you she looked way more like 17 to everyone there. Someone should have been looking out for her. If that was my kid sister, she never would have been drunk at a party like that in the first damn place.”

Merle had the chills and didn’t want to be anywhere near Gareth any more. He’d never been with a girl under 16 and none of them had ever said anything like ‘no’ or ‘stop’ to him. He wasn’t an angel, he had broken more than a few hearts and told a bunch of lies to get what he wanted in life, but Gareth was an actual rapist.

/

Merle sat down to watch Jen pull weeds and checked out her ass for a while as the sunset that evening. She seemed to know that he was looking but never stopped aiming her ass in his direction. Jen was his kind of girl.

“Jen?”

“Yeah?”

“Did Gareth try anything with you when he first got here?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I heard you kinda lost it on him,” Merle grinned. He liked the idea of her showing Gareth who was boss.

“He grabbed my breast and then tried to pretend he was just goofing around, I haven’t trusted any of those creeps since.

“Sorry to ask, it’s just that I don’t trust him, and I don’t like him near you.”

“He never tried anything since,” she noted.

“That’s good, but I know he’s capable of some evil shit and I just want you to be careful.”

She sat back on her knees then and looked at him with a concerned expression.

“Like what?” she asked.

“Jen…he raped a girl. That’s why he’s here.”

“I heard it was assault.”

“Yeah, sexual assault. The girl was only 13 too.”

“What?”

She stood up then and began to pace the grass like she was gathering her thoughts.

“Hey, you OK?”

“I wish I told someone now…”

“What?”

Jen appeared to be cracking and he needed her to stop and explain. To his surprise, she didn’t freak out when he grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Hey, tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I’m here with a rapist, Merle. If I told them I was raped, then maybe they would have put me somewhere different.”

“Do you want to tell someone now? I don’t want you feeling unsafe…but I don’t want you to go either,” Merle explained.

“I don’t want to leave either…I want to be with you now. I’m just keeping my distance from him now…and maybe I should tell Dale about what happened.”

“I can go with you if you want, like for moral support. I know we just met and everything, but I really care about you, Jen.”

“Maybe you’re the only one who does,” she said softly, and it touched him on a visceral level.

Merle knew then and there that he was going to protect this one girl till the day he died. Nobody was going to harm her again.

/

Jen still wanted to think about telling Dale the story of her past and Merle didn’t rush her. She did open up a little in therapy the next day about feeling anxious but didn’t go into detail why. Dale was obviously excited to hear her speaking up but didn’t push her to say any more than she was comfortable with.

Merle noticed that Jen was avoiding Gareth even more than usual and he had a feeling that Gareth noticed too, he looked pissy about it.

Dale asked Merle two days later if he could trust him and Jen alone together for a few hours while he went shopping in the city and took Gareth to get his injury checked.

“Yeah, we’ll behave ourselves,” Merle answered.

He was cleaning a rifle on the desktop as Merle watched, his eyes focused on the barrel as they spoke. Dale had various rifles and handguns and even mentioned taking Merle deer hunting if he wanted to go; Merle definitely wanted to.

Merle sat across from Dale’s desk in his office where he often lingered for no reason in particular. Dale was the kind of person he could be around without the pressure of saying anything, Dale never asked what he wanted, he’d simply nod when he entered the room and smile.

“Jen is a special girl,” Dale smiled.

“Can I ask you something though?”

Merle needed to know why certain decisions had been made.

“Sure.”

“Why is any girl here with someone like Gareth? Why is this place co-ed with a creep like him around?”

Dale sighed and felt like he needed to do some explaining.

“Gareth is the son of a friend and I was assured that he regretted what happened and just wanted to straighten his life out…I don’t think that’s true though.”

“It ain’t true. I heard all about it and he still says the girl was asking for it.”

“Jesus…”

“I just worry about him being near Jen,” Merle pressed.

“I was thinking about putting a lock on her door, but with her history of suicide attempts I can’t really do that.”

“When is he leaving here?” Merle asked.

“He has another month, but I’m going to look into transferring him. This place is for kids who have accepted responsibility for their crimes, not those still in denial,” Dale sighed. “Thanks for talking to me about this, Merle.”

“No problem.”

Dale placed the cleaned firearm back in the cabinet and locked the door, placing the key in the top drawer of his desk like it was nothing.

The door to his office was always locked when he left the cabin, but Merle still wondered if it was secure enough with people like Gareth around. Merle didn’t trust Gareth any further than he could throw him.

/

Merle was excited to be alone with Jen again for a few hours that afternoon. He found her up in her room and knocked on the door, hoping he’d get a kiss or something out of her finally.

“Come in!” she called.

“Hey, we got the place to ourselves for a bit.”

“Yeah? Where did they go?”

“Dale took Gareth to get his hand checked and then he had to get groceries.”

“Well then,” she grinned. “Come in and have a seat.”

Merle sat down next to her on her bed and decided to let her make the first move, it would be a novelty to not be trying so hard to get a girl naked for once.

He lay back on her pillows and picked up a bear she had next to her.

“Who’s this?” he asked.

“Shut up.”

“Come on, doesn’t he have a name?” Merle teased.

“Baloo.”

“Like in The Jungle Book?” Merle grinned.

“Yep.”

“Hey, I’m only teasing,” he chuckled. “Come here.”

Merle knew she was comfortable with hand-holding at least and so he took her hands and pulled her till she was lying beside him.

“It’s all good, I  won’t try anything,” he vowed as she settled next to him and looked over into his eyes.

“You’re a good guy, Merle…I wish I could give you everything you want.”

“I just wanna be here, I’m all good.”

“I’m just scared that if I kiss you, it’ll go off the rails and I’ll get all freaked out…I don’t want to scare you away.”

“Just stop when you want to. I’m not saying it would be easy for me to stop halfway through, but I’d get over it.”

Jen laughed then, and he liked the sound of it. Under all the pain, she still had humour and that was a good sign.

“So, you’ll still be my friend if I leave you with blue balls?” she smiled.

“Yeah, I’ll be your friend no matter what,” he answered, and it was an entirely different tone.

Merle wanted to pull her into the moment with him, to test the waters.

Their faces were only a few inches apart and then she began to move in for the kill, squeezing his hand tighter as she did.

Jen’s kiss was so soft and so smooth. She had full lips that covered his own when they pressed together. He reached out to touch her face although it’s not something he normally did.

She didn’t seem to mind and soon her hand was resting on his waist as they both turned to face each other.

Merle picked up the scent of baby powder when her hand rose up to touch his face as well, it must have been her deodorant or something. He was held captive at the moment and he knew what his mission was; Merle was going to lead her back to intimacy one baby step at a time.

He felt her tongue move against his lower lip and so he opened his mouth for her.

Adrenaline began to burn down his arms and into her body before returning back to his heart; he was in deep right from the start. Her eyes were closed as his tongue filled her mouth and her hand tensed up on his waist.

“You OK?” he asked between panting breaths a few minutes later.

“Yeah…but this is all I can do right now.”

“Hey, I’m loving this. I won’t try nothing else.”

“You’re going to get tired of this,” she sighed.

“No, I won’t. I’m not going anywhere.”

In a heartbeat, she was kissing him again and he managed to lay his hand on her waist by the end of the kissing session. Jen was a great kisser and something about the knowledge that a kiss was all he’d get made it sweeter.  In time, she would come to trust him, and he was willing to wait. Merle could relate to this broken girl more than any other girl he’d ever met. Jen knew what the dark side was like and he’d pull her back to the light if it took the rest of his life.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Merle and Jen stuff coming after this chapter. Thanks for reading! Teagan xoxo

Chapter 7

Merle spoke to Daryl that evening when Dale returned with Gareth and decided to mention Jen to him.

“You found a girlfriend in lock up?” Daryl laughed.

“It’s early days so I’m not sure if she’d call me her boyfriend yet. She’s really cool, you’ll like her.”

“Me and you are still getting away though, right?” Daryl asked.

“Of course, we are. You’re my number one priority, Daryl.  That ain’t changing for anything, you know that.”

“Yeah, I know…it’s just that he started drinking heavier again and he’s angry as hell over every little thing.”

“Are you OK?” Merle asked. “Tell me the truth, Daryl…what happened?”

“He busted my lip last night.”

Daryl’s voice was so small, and Merle growled in anger, he needed to talk to Dale, he needed to do something.

“Is he home right now?”

“No, he’ll probably be gone till after midnight again.”

Merle sighed, the guilt of leaving his baby brother in that situation just for one night of drunken stupidity killed him.

“I’m going to talk to Dale, and I’ll call you back in twenty minutes, OK?”

“Talk to him about what?”

“Just make sure you answer when I call back. I’m gonna try to sort something out.”

“OK…but don’t go getting me in more shit with dad.”

“You kidding me? I’m gonna get you outta there if I can.”

“Huh?”

“Just pick up when I call back OK?”

“OK.”

/

“Dale? Can I talk to you?”

Dale was in the backyard building a birdhouse when he walked out back to have a word. Merle wasn’t used to asking adults for anything, but he would do it for Daryl if that’s what it took.

“Of course, what’s up? Jen OK?”

“Yeah…this is about my little brother.”

“What’s wrong, Merle?”

“My dad is on his case again now that I’m gone…he took another beating last night and I need to ask you something.”

“Go ahead.”

“Can he come here? It’s killing me that he’s back there without me to protect him…I was such an idiot, Dale.”

“How old is he?”

“Fifteen.”

“I’ll need him to sign a statement that he’s in danger at home because he isn’t sixteen yet. And after this, he’ll need to move in with you when you’re eighteen or be placed in a foster home.”

“He stays with me, I’m not letting him go back to foster care. We’ve both been through that and it ain’t happening again.”

“I understand. I’m just saying that if you can’t stay on the straight and narrow, that’s what will happen. I just need you to know that if he signs the emergency order to leave home, that’s it, there’s no going back.”

“I’m going to keep my shit together this time and I’m going to look out for him. You said you could maybe help me with a job and housing when I get out?”

“Yes. I’ll do what I can as long as you’re serious.”

“I’m deadly serious. I need to get him out of there.”

“Call him and tell him about the document and we’ll go pick  him up if he agrees to sign it.”

Merle had never had anyone in his life like Dale and he felt overwhelmed by it, so overwhelmed that he did something he’d never done before.

Merle took a step forward and pulled the smaller man into his arms and squeezed him tight.

“Thanks, man…I just can’t leave him there.”

“It’s OK, son…it’s OK. We’ll get him out of that house.”

“Thank you.”

Merle let go and almost ran back to the office to call Daryl.

“What’s going on?” Jen asked when she saw him grinning like a fool.

“I’m getting my brother back,” he responded, giving her no real answers.

Merle would explain after he spoke to Daryl, it couldn’t wait. He dialled the numbers and his heart jumped when he heard Daryl’s voice.

“Merle?”

“Pack up your shit, brother. We’re coming to get you.”

“What?”

“You can come stay here with me at the cabin. You just need to sign a document that you’re being abused and as soon as I’m eighteen I can take responsibility for you.”

“Shut up.”

“I mean it.”

“But what about dad? He won’t be able to come take me back and kick my ass?”

“No. It’s over, Daryl.”

Merle could hear his brother break down on the other end of the phone and he tried his best not to lose it too. He had to be a man for Daryl now, he had to be strong for him.

“Daryl…”

“Yeah?”

He was trying to hide the emotion in his voice, Merle could tell, and he had to know it was OK. Merle wanted to be like Dale and tell his brother that it was OK to feel things. When he was at the cabin and safe, he would do just that.

“Pack up everything you want to take and go to Kenny’s place, we’ll pick you up there,” Merle explained.

Daryl’s best friend Kenny lived down the street from them, Merle just wanted him out of that house ASAP.

“Thank you, Merle.”

“It’s all good, Daryl. I’ll see you soon.”

/

Merle walked out of Dale’s office and couldn’t stop smiling.

“OK, now tell me,” Jen demanded.

“We’re going to get my brother.”

“For real?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s awesome, Merle,” she smiled.

/

Dale decided to bring Jen and Gareth along since he didn’t want to leave them alone together and they drove to Atlanta in the van that Dale normally used for big shopping trips.

“I bet you’re excited,” Jen grinned as she took his hand.

They were sat in the very back row of seats and he squeezed her hand tight, just imagining Daryl being safe was enough for him.

It felt like a dream to think it was over. Their father wasn’t going to have power over either of them anymore and all he had to do was keep his nose clean.

They pulled up outside Daryl’s friend’s house and Merle saw Daryl looking through the front kitchen window with a big smile on his face. Dale followed him to the door where Kenny’s father wanted to know what was going on.

“My name is Dale Horvath and  I run a young offender’s lodge where Merle is currently staying. We have reason to believe that Daryl isn’t safe at home and are offering him residence until he can find a permanent home that meets his needs.”

“It’s about time,” Kenny’s father sighed.

Apparently, it was common knowledge that the Dixon boys had a bad home life.

Merle grabbed Daryl and hugged him tight as Dale pulled out the paperwork for Daryl to sign.

“Is he going to go to jail or something?” Daryl asked before signing.

“That’s a whole other process, this is just about keeping you safe and changing the custody of a minor,” Dale explained. “You could press charges for assault if you want to.”

“I just want out of there,” Daryl answered.

“That’s up to you, son, and you don’t have to decide now.”

“Thanks.”

Merle sat next to Jen and Daryl on the way back and felt like he had it all. He had a girl he cared for and saw a real future with and his brother back, there was nothing else he wanted.

/

Back at the cabin, Dale explained the rules to Daryl and assigned him a bedroom where he could unpack.

“Merle can fill you in on everything, and you can always come ask me for anything you need. We have daily counselling sessions and I think it would do you good to participate, but if you need a day or two to unwind that’s cool.”

“Thanks a lot…”

Daryl didn’t know what to say, he’d never been treated this way by a male adult before.

“Your lip OK?” Dale asked.

“Yeah, just can’t eat without it hurting.”

“Grab some ice cream or something soft. I went shopping just recently so there’s lots of food, help yourself.”

“For real?”

“Yeah, eat anything you like.”

/

“This place is insane, Merle! It’s the coolest place I’ve ever been, and Dale is so nice.”

“He’s great. I wish I never had to leave you back there alone, Daryl.”

“Forget about it, that’s all over now, right?”

“Right.”

Merle knew that everything was riding on him behaving himself and just prayed that he wouldn’t let Daryl down. Dixon men were not known for their ability to stay out of trouble and he hoped he could break that cycle for his brother’s sake.

 


	8. Chapter 8

** Chapter 8 **

When the cabin was quiet, Merle descended the stairs for a glass of milk before turning in. He was yawning as he stepped onto the landing in his boxers and an undershirt and surprised to see someone still up. Gareth was sat alone on the couch staring at the TV and Merle eyed him with disdain.

“So, this place is a flop house for lost puppies now?” Gareth muttered.

“It always was,” Merle answered without even looking at him.

Gareth didn’t warrant his attention. If Gareth couldn’t even listen when a child said no to him, then he didn’t deserve respect from anyone else.

Gareth just huffed, and Merle walked up the stairs to see about a visit with Jen.

He knocked softly on her door after checking on Daryl and heard her whisper, “Come in.”

“You still up?” he smiled.

“Yes, come here.”

Merle was invited under the covers with her and tried not to focus on her bare legs as he lay down. She was in her t-shirt and panties again and his teen lust began to burn instantly. She wrapped her arm around him as they lay on their sides again, looking at each other’s obscured face in the dark.

“You looked so relieved to have Daryl here,” she said.

It was new to be with a girl who thought of things like this, a girl who thought about his happiness.

“It feels right, I had to get him away from there somehow. Thank God Dale listened to me.”

“You’re a good brother.”

“I need to be even better though, I can’t get into any more trouble now. I need to be a man now to take care of him the way he deserves.”

Jen moved her face into the crook of his neck then and breathed him in.

“You can do it, I believe in you.”

Merle felt her hand move down from his waist to his hip and it ached everywhere at once. Was she testing him?

“Jen…”

“Kiss me.”

Merle couldn’t argue with her demand and so he kissed her like he wanted to from the start, with passion.

A soft little moan slipped from her mouth between breaths and the heat radiating from her body to his made him need her in a powerful way.

“I feel safe with you…I know you won’t hurt me.”

“Never, honey…I promise,” he panted as her leg moved up around the side of his waist.

He was hard a stone and didn’t bother trying to hide it. She’d soon feel it against those beige panties.

Her fingers threaded through his curls and her pelvis moved against him like she was desperate for it.

“You need to tell me when to stop…you know I will…but you’re killin’ me here.”

Jen took his hand and moved it around her back in response and promised she’d tell him if it was too much.

A few moments later he dared to lay his big hand on her ass cheek and she didn’t protest.

“I want you, honey…I  want you so bad. You don’t know how weak you make me,” he confessed.

“I want you to touch me…I never thought I’d ever want to be touched again,” she whined.

Merle’s fingers crept around the back of her leg to the cool crotch of her wet panties and she almost sobbed with desire.

“Like that?” he asked.

“Yes…I need more.”

She squirmed around until she was out of her t-shirt and he was treated to the sight of her perfect round breasts in the dim light coming in through the window.

“Damn, girl,” he grinned and then she pulled him in to taste her skin as he happily complied.

“I wanna make you cum, honey.”

“I’m so close already.”

He thrust his cock against her panties then, to show her how crazy she was making him and then slipped his fingertips under the silk to touch her wet lips.

“Jesus…yes!”

“Shhh…we’ll get in shit,” Merle chuckled under his breath.

Merle bent down to take her left nipple into his mouth and sucked softly as he teased her clit with the fingers of his right hand. She was right on the edge as he stroked her slippery lips and circled her clit, she was right at the precipice.

“Cum for me, honey,” Merle begged between mouthfuls of her perfect breasts.

“I need…I need your fingers inside me,” she pleaded.

“You ain’t gotta ask twice for that,” he grinned.

Merle slid one finger inside her then and she arched her back, so close to release.

“More?”

“Jesus yes,” she whispered.

Merle fingered her slow and smooth with two fingers then and held his wet thumb against her clit just for her to move herself against it.

The sound of her release was like angels singing and he buried her face in his neck to stifle the sound a little. He felt ten feet tall as she clung to him afterward and then he felt something he didn’t expect.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” he assured her, but nothing was stopping her then.

Jen slid her little hand inside his boxers and stroked his cock so sweetly as he lay back and closed his eyes.

“Someday soon, I want you inside me, Merle. I don’t have anything here for protection and I’m not on the pill, but someday when we can, I want to.”

“You got it, honey,” he groaned. “Whenever you’re ready…you just lemme know.”

She kissed his chest as she jerked him off and whispered words of desire that drove him out of his mind.

“You’re mine…only you can touch me, baby.”

He was just about to cum all over her hand when her head disappeared under the sheets and she closed her mouth around his cock.

“Fuuuuck!” he almost yelped in surprise as she sucked the last of his strength from his body.

He came down her throat with handfuls of her sheets gripped tightly in his fists.

/

“That wasn’t weird for you at all?” he asked as he sat up to leave.

He stayed in her arms for a long time, but eventually, he had to get back to bed before Dale noticed.

“Not with you, I can’t explain it, but I trust you.”

“I ain’t gonna hurt you, honey.”

“I know.”

“I think I love you, Jen.”

“I think I love you too.”

“Are we stupid to fall this hard at our age?” he grinned.  
“Maybe, but can you help it?”

“Hell no, and I don’t even want to.”

“Me neither.”

/

Merle knew what he wanted from life for the first time ever and he was going to get it. His future would be all about giving Daryl a decent home for the rest of his teen years and being with Jen. He hoped that Daryl and Jen would get along, he hoped that he’d be able to find a good job to provide for his brother, Merle Dixon hoped for more like he never had before.

In the morning, Jen was like a new person and she said she was ready to talk to Dale. She pulled Merle aside in the upstairs hallway to let him know and he was happy to hear it. Telling the authorities that she’d been abused was the first step to not being sent back home after her stay at the cabin.

“You’ll still come with me?” she asked.

“Of course. You’re doing the right thing, Jen.”

/

Daryl sat down at the breakfast table as Dale served up eggs, bacon and hot toast with real butter and wore the same expression as Merle when he first arrived.

“Get ready to gain a few pounds, brother. The food here is insane.”

“It sure beats the crap back at home,” Daryl grinned. “Thanks, Mr. Horvath.”

“Please, call me Dale, son. Eat up and then take it easy today. I’m just sorry that half of this stuff is gonna be hard to eat with your lip like that.”

“Fuck it, I’ll manage,” Daryl smiled. “Oh…sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, kid, it’s only words.”

Gareth looked incensed, but nobody seemed to notice except Merle. There was something brewing with him and Merle didn’t like it. He wasn’t perfect himself, but a guy who would rape a child was not someone he could ever turn his back on.

Jen gave Merle the eye across the table a few times and it felt like everyone at the cabin could tell they’d been up to something the night before. Perhaps it was Merle being paranoid, but it felt so obvious with the way she looked at him. He didn’t much care if people knew, except that he knew it would piss Gareth off more despite his insistence that he didn’t care.

“Dale? Could I have a word with you after breakfast?” Jen asked.

“Sure.”

“In private?”

“Of course,” Dale smiled. “Everything OK?”

“Yeah, I think it’s going to be a lot better from now on,” she sighed.

Merle was proud of his girl, it was a new relationship, but she already had him in the palm of her hand. If she could reach out for help after being so traumatized, then he could keep his shit together and make a good life for Daryl. Jen inspired him to want more and not accept any less than his dreams.

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!!! xoxo

**Chapter 9**

“So, what’s up?” Dale smiled from the other side of his massive old oak wood desk.

Merle was sitting next to her and knew that Dale was wondering why. This wasn’t going to be easy to hear for a second time, but Merle was going to be there for her as he promised no matter what.

“I can’t go home when I leave here,” she began.

“I kinda figured.”

“You did?”

“Jen, you took a vacuum cleaner to your father’s head, there had to be a reason for it.”

“There is.”

“You don’t have to go into detail, Jen. Just the basics is fine. I don’t need you to dig it all up here and now, I just need to know what kind of danger going home poses for you.”

Jen took a few deep breaths and the room was silent as the grave as they waited for her to just say it.

“My stepfather has been molesting me since a few months after my mother died…four years now.”

“I’m so sorry, honey.”

Jen reached for Merle’s hand then and he rubbed her knuckles with his thumb as she continued.

“I had to have an abortion last year because of what he did to me.”

“Oh my God,” Dale breathed. “You’re never going back there, Jen, don’t worry about that.”

“Do I have to go to court or press charges?” she asked.

“That’s up to you, but I’d really like it if you spoke to someone about this before you make any decisions. I have a female counsellor who can help you if you’d like that. It’s all confidential.”

“Has she heard this kind of thing before?” Jen asked.

“She’s a former police officer, who works as a social worker now. Diane worked in rape crisis centers for years, so I’m almost certain she has heard a story similar to yours, nothing you say will shock her or make her judge you in any way.”

Jen felt drained after putting it into words and cried a little as Merle handed her a box of tissue.

“You did it, Jen,” Merle whispered, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

“Looks like being with Merle is a really good thing for you, Jen.”

“It is…I trust him.”

“I’m happy for you, thanks for telling me this. Now I can take steps to protect you.”

“That son of a bitch is never coming near her again,” Merle growled under his breath. “He shouldn’t even be breathing.”

“That’s not for you to take on, son,” Dale stated clearly. The last thing he wanted was more trouble for Merle when he was finally on the road to something better.

/

Jen took some time to herself that evening and Merle decided to talk with Daryl in the backyard.

“The air is different out here,” Daryl sighed and sat back in a canvas deck chair.

“We’re free now,” Merle stated and held his head high. “I’m gonna look out for you now.”

“Thanks, dad,” Daryl chuckled.

“You’re still young, Daryl. You’re gonna need someone to look up to and now that’s gonna be me. I’m gonna stop fucking around in life and set a better example for you.”

“You OK?” Daryl queried.

Merle had changed, and he knew it was kind of freaking Daryl out a little.

“I get it that this doesn’t sound like me, but I’m sick of the shit in our lives. I wanna live right and see us both do better for ourselves. Things can be good now.”

“I’m in,” Daryl answered. “Now that we’re away from dad, it can be like it’s supposed to be.”

“It won’t be easy, we won’t have a lot of money or anything, but we’ll be safe for once. I’m gonna get a job and a little apartment then you and Jen can go to school.”

“Me and Jen?”

“Jesus, I forgot to mention that. She can’t go back home either, so I was gonna have her stay with us.”

“What’s she like anyway?” Daryl asked skeptically.

“She’s really great, you’ll like her, and it’ll be nice to have a girl around anyway.”

“I guess so.”

“You upset?”

“Nah, I just wanna be away from dad so I don’t care. As long as I’m not stuck watching you two play kissy face every damn night.”

“It won’t be like that, I promise.”

“Cool. Maybe I can find a girlfriend too,” he grinned.

Merle looked down at his little brother and felt the need to ask a fatherly question.

“You been with a girl yet?”

“You mean-”

“I mean, have you fucked a girl?”

“…no.”

“It’s all good,” Merle assured him. “There ain’t no rush for that anyway.”

“Bullshit, you did it by the time you were my age,” Daryl sighed.

“It wasn’t worth a damn though. Being with Jen is better than all that and we haven’t even done it yet.”

“Yeah?”

“Trust me. Being with a girl you actually like and have shit in common with is better than just getting laid any day.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Daryl nodded.

Merle felt proud of himself, maybe he could pull off this surrogate dad thing after all.

/

Daryl found himself stir crazy at the cabin, there was nothing to be wary of and it almost freaked him out. He was still looking at the clock to see when his father would be home, only to realize that it wasn’t his problem anymore.

Dale had contacted a local social worker to inform his father that he was in a new housing situation and that the case would be reviewed. Daryl felt enormous anxiety at the idea of a social worker talking to his dad. There was surely yelling, and he cringed at the thought of it.

Even though he hated him in so many ways, it felt strange to think he would never live there again. Merle had his new girlfriend to occupy his mind and the thought of never going home didn’t seem to faze him at all. Daryl was happy but lost.

“Daryl?”

He was laying on a bed with fresh clean sheets thinking about his filthy mattress on the floor back at home when Dale showed up at his door. Daryl sat up quick and smiled awkwardly at him.

“Uh…thanks again for taking me in,” he blurted.

“It’s OK, Daryl. You don’t have to thank me so much. I was happy to bring you here to be with Merle.”

“Do you know what happened when they went to my house?” he asked.

“From what I heard, your dad was pissed but appeared to accept it in the end. The social worker explained to him that you were in a safe place and he agreed to check in with Child and Welfare services when the case is reviewed.”

“But I don’t have to go back?”

“No. I actually want to talk to you about the future, Daryl. Things are going to move fast now, and I want to see you and Merle succeed.”

“OK.”

“How are your marks in school, son?”

“…not so great. The thing is that I miss a lot of school, and when I’m there it’s hard to concentrate with everything that happens at home. Sometimes I’m starving in class or the old man kept me up late and I-”

“Hey, you don’t have to explain. I understand that it’s not easy for you. The thing is that I have a niece who wants to become a teacher and I think she could help you catch up over the summer.”

“Yeah? I’m really behind though.”

“Carol is really great with tutoring and she’s very patient. She’s in grade twelve and I know she’d be happy to meet with you a few times a week.”

“You think?”

“I’m sure of it. The thing is, Daryl, soon it’ll just be you and Merle and without education and you making opportunities for yourself, life will chew you up and spit you out. I want you to have all the things you deserve in life cause it’s not your fault how things started for you.”

Daryl almost felt choked up by his words. All the adults in his life treated him like a nuisance who was simply in the way or too much trouble to bother with. Daryl wasn’t a perfect kid, but nobody ever tried to understand what his life was like before.

“Thanks, Dale…I don’t really know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say a word, son. Just relax for the rest of today and I’ll call Carol about coming to see you if that’s OK.”

“If you think I can pull my shit together then I’m up for it,” he smiled.

“I know you can, Daryl.”

 

 

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Merle felt calm with Daryl being at the cabin, but Gareth didn’t allow that to last very long. The next morning, he was cornered by Gareth and Merle had to use every drop of strength not to drop him cold. “So, you and Wednesday are fucking now?” he growled as Merle was loading up a pile of firewood.

“No, we aren’t. Not that it’s any of your business.”

“I heard you the other night, I heard the sounds she was making.”

“Creeping around in the hallways now, Gareth? You need a fuckin’ hobby.”

“But you are fucking her, aren’t you?”

“You kiddin’ me?” Merle laughed. “She’d be louder than that if I was fucking her, that was just a little fun.”

“You’re a cocky fucker, huh?”

“Look, she ain’t for you. Till you get it out of your head that women owe you shit, I don’t think any of them are for you. Just leave it alone, alright? She’s with me now.”

“You think you can walk in here and own the fuckin place,” Gareth hollered.

“What’s your fucking problem, Gareth? I like her, and she likes me, it’s nothing to do with you. Get help, you idiot!”

Merle stormed off to get away from him and settle back down. He wanted to punch him in his stupid face, but that wasn’t the answer anymore. If Merle wanted to keep Daryl and Jen safe, then he had to be a real man who didn’t get into fist fights over morons like Gareth. He located Dale and asked when they would be free of Gareth and was disappointed to hear that there was no progress yet on him being transferred.

“I’m doing what I can, but all of the facilities are too packed right now. I think they are also trying to teach me a lesson. All the other youth detention centers think what I’m trying to do here is a joke.”

“He’s pissing me off, but I ain’t letting him get me in shit,” Merle sighed heavily.

“I’ll talk to him and put him on restrictions. Just keep your head up, Merle and you’ll get through this.”

“Thanks.”

“Do you think Daryl would like to take the quads around the trails with me?” Dale asked. “I need to gather some more wood.”

“He’d love that, I think.”

“Cool. Will you three be OK and not kill each other if we head out for an hour? I need to have him back to meet with Carol by 4 pm.”

“It’ll be good. I ain’t letting him get to me now.”

“Happy to hear that, it’s a sign that you’re a man now. See you in a bit.”

/

Merle was proud of himself for not snapping. He decided to drop by Jen’s room for some comfort after lunch and found her flipping through a book about mythology.

“Hey,” he called, peeking his head around the door.

“Hey, you,” she smiled. “Come here.”

Merle flopped down on her bed and looked at the book she was holding in her lap.

“Gareth was being an asshole about me and you, he heard us the other night.”

“He’s such a creep. Did he have his ear pressed to the wall or something?” she huffed.

“No idea, but he’s pretty hung up on you, I think.”

“I hate him, so he can fuck right off with that train of thought,” she stated plainly.

“I kinda told him you’re with me now, like you’re my girlfriend,” Merle explained.

“What did he say?”

“He seems to figure I just walked in here and took what I wanted like you didn’t have a say in the matter. He doesn’t seem to think much of women having their own minds or anything.”

“So, I’m your girlfriend and you didn’t even have to ask me?” she grinned.

“You for real? After the other night and everything?” he chuckled.

“Come on, it’s romantic to actually ask.”

“Alright then. Jen? Will you be my girlfriend, to have and to hold from this day forward as long as we both shall live, in sickness and health for richer or poorer and all that other bullshit?”

“I do,” she laughed.

“Good, now come here,” he growled, pulling her down and tossing her book to the floor.

Merle kissed her like in the movies and pinned her to the bed without thinking that it might freak her out. He could read instantly that it was a bit too much and backed off to lay at her side instead.

“Sorry.”

“It’s OK,” she smiled and touched his face. “Someday I won’t be weird about this stuff, I promise.”

“Hey,” he said, bringing her eyes to his. “I’ll be right here. I can wait as long as it takes.”

 She pulled him closer to kiss her again and he felt crazy inside from only a kiss. Just laying next to her was enough. Jen was like him; she was a little broken but not beyond repair and together they’d make it somehow.

/

Daryl was led up to Dale’s office after racing around the trails with him for the afternoon. Dale let him ride all over the trails at top speed as long as he wore a helmet and Daryl felt free as a bird. He forgot about his dad back home probably cursing his name and it was like nothing could touch him out in the woods.

“This place is great,” he grinned.

“You sound like your brother a couple of weeks ago,” Dale chuckled.

“So, you said your niece is patient? Cause I’m struggling with almost everything in grade 11.”

Just then, Carol knocked at the door and Dale smiled over to her.

“Hey, honey! This is your student, Daryl Dixon.”

“Hey, Uncle Dale.”

Daryl watched as a girl with short brown hair walked in and hugged Dale tight. The girl was in tight leggings and a t-shirt advertising that she ran on the track team…she was a stunner and his poor fifteen-year-old hormones couldn’t take it.

“Hey there! You ready to get started?” she quipped in a chipper tone directed right at him.

“Uh….yeah, sure. I’m ready.”

Daryl had no books and had no idea where they were going to start, but he was game. She was sure to think he was a dunce, but he couldn’t complain when he was being allowed to sit next to a gorgeous 18-year-old for the whole summer long.

“I’ll leave you two to it then,” Dale smiled. “Door closed or open?”

“Closed,” Carol smiled.

With the door closed and Carol pulling her chair up close to his at the desk, Daryl felt all the air leave his lungs.

“So, do you recall what you were doing in math? Any problems in particular? Math is one of my best subjects.”

“I…uh, it was like graphs and letters and numbers…plotting points on a graph or something?”

“Quadratic functions?” she asked.

“Uh…I think so.”

Carol grinned and pulled out some paper from her uncle’s desk and two pencils.  She wrote an equation on the paper and it did look familiar to him.

“Yeah, that’s what we were doing when I got all distracted with home shit this year. I don’t know how to solve it though, there was a letter thing to doing these…like a…what’s it called.”

“An acronym?”

“Yeah, I swear I’m not slow in the head, it’s just that I had some trouble at home and I-”

“It’s all good, relax,” she almost purred. “Breathe.”

Carol lay her hand on his back then and his cock twitched against his will.

 

**_Stop it, for fuck sakes! She’s just helping us with math!_ **

****

“Once you know how to work the acronym and use the formula, you’ll be able to solve any question like this,” she assured him. “So, it’s FOIL, which stands for First, Outside, Inside, Last. Sound familiar?”

“It does actually!” he exclaimed.

“Try to work this one and I’ll let you know where your off track, deal?”

“Sure.”

Daryl only messed up one step and Carol insisted that she’d be able to get him back to grade level in no time. Her voice was soothing and kind, she wasn’t talking down to him at all and he was grateful for that.

She sat so close to him and she smelled like girly shampoo and strawberry lip gloss. By the end of their first tutoring session, Daryl had a mad crush and was on his way to becoming a competent student.

“You’re really only fifteen?” she asked as she loaded up her books.

“Yeah,” he answered in a slightly deeper voice that he regretted immediately.

“You look older than that,” Carol smiled. “Same time tomorrow?”

“Definitely,” he grinned like a total mug. “Can’t wait.”

He was flustered all evening, and when Daryl lay his head down that night, it was thoughts of Carol’s tight leggings and sweet voice that filled his mind.

****

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

** Chapter 11 **

Merle took Jen out on the quad after supper that evening. She clung to him from behind, squealing whenever they zipped  over even the smallest hill and he loved that. He was still surprised with the level of freedom they were allowed at the cabin, but he wasn’t about to question it.

“Hang on tight, girl! Might lose ya!” he cackled as he raced through winding trails.

“Slow down then!” she squeaked.

“Not a chance!”

They rode for a good twenty minutes until he found the picnic table area they’d walked to previously. Jen came to sit next to him on the top of the table and he leaned his leg against her until she looked at him.

“Hey, you.”

“Hey,” she smiled.

The sun was setting over Lake Lanier, but it was still hot as hell, Georgia summers always reminded you who was boss, and they didn’t let up till the sun was long gone.

“Last night, I had the first good dream since what happened with my stepdad,” she said softly and looked up at the patches of sky showing through the treetops.

“That’s good…what did you dream about?” he asked.

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, and it was a little indecent if I’m being honest, but it was so good. For the first time in ages I was turned on and it didn’t make me feel…sick.”

“It’s gotta be hard to separate sex from what happened to you I guess,” he mused.

“That’s exactly it. When sexual things happen to you and you can’t stop it, it’s like every time you think of sex you think about losing control.”

“That makes sense. If it helps, you can control me all you like. Everything between us will be up to you.”

He wanted to lighten the mood and thankfully that’s the spirit she took his comment in.

“You’re a goof, Merle.”

“You gonna tell me what happened in the dream?” he pressed.

To his knowledge, no girl had ever dreamed about him, so he couldn’t resist asking.

“I was in my bed and you came into my room late at night.”

“Oh yeah,” he grinned, “sounds like me.”

“You kissed me so slow and soft and then you went down on me.”

Merle was turned on, just from hearing her describe it.

“Nice,” he answered absentmindedly.

“When I woke up, I was so close, that I had to finish the job…that’s the first time I’ve done that in more than two years.”

“Really?”

“Really. You make me want it all back…you remind me that I used to be different before all this.”

Merle thought about the gravity of his life lately. He wasn’t just a punk kid anymore; he was a man and he needed to step up for Jen and Daryl.

“Jen, I wanna make you happy and you gotta know that you’re in charge here. I’d make love to you right now, or I’d wait as long as you want. You’re the one who decides.”

“We can’t have sex with no protection, but I do want more with you if you’re sure you can stop if I need to.”

“I’m positive.”

“Then maybe tonight, you could make my dream come true,” she suggested gently.

“I can do that.”

“Only if you want to of course.”

“Oh, I want to, and I’ll make it good for you, Jen. I won’t try to push it or anything.”

She grinned and bit her lip then and it was so sexy Merle could hardly take it.

/

They rode back to the cabin and Merle found Daryl staring off into space with a dopey smile at the kitchen table. Dale was talking with Gareth in his office and Jen was in her bedroom. Merle figured he may as well talk to Daryl while they were alone cause something was definitely up.

“OK, what’s going on?” Merle asked.

“Did you see my tutor?” Daryl grinned with wide eyes.

“Hey there, you’re supposed to be studying, little brother.”

“Oh, I am,” he chuckled.

“I mean it! This is our shot to get our feet under us for once.”

“Relax, she taught me all about the quadratic method and I actually understood it for once, but damn she’s hot too!”

“And she’s Dale’s niece, so watch it.”

“She’s your age, so she wouldn’t go for me, but I can look, right?”

“Just watch yourself, Daryl.”

“I know…it’s just hard being my age and not having any experience. I got needs, right?”

“Yep, and you got a perfectly good right hand for that.”

“That ain’t fair, you got a girl.”

“Just be careful, OK?”

“Alright. Are you gonna sleep with that girl?” he whispered.

“Nah, we’re just messing around right now, we got no condoms?” Merle answered quietly.

Merle decided to take the conversation out to the backyard where he wouldn’t get busted for talking about his thing with Jen.

“So, what do you mean by just messing around?” Daryl asked.

“Just making out, Daryl.”

Merle knew he wanted more detail and was a little stunned by his lack of knowledge, Merle had already screwed a few girls by the age of fifteen. He walked out to the garden and away from the cabin for a chat and Daryl followed.

“Jen has been through some bad things so I’m taking it slow with her,” he said under his breath. “Just little things like touching and stuff, but she did ask me to go down on her tonight.”

“Yeah?” Daryl beamed with curiosity.

“Daryl, you have gone down on a girl, haven’t you?”

“No. I touched Rebecca’s boobs and I felt her up through her panties though.”

“You’ll figure it out when you get there, just don’t be afraid to ask the girl what she actually likes.”

“Won’t that sound stupid?”

“Hell no, better than trying to guess and getting it wrong.”

“Huh,” Daryl mused.

Merle sighed and proceeded to give him some basic tips but then reminded him to actually ask the girl what she liked. Who would know better than her the girl herself?

“Makes sense, thanks Merle.”

“No problem, kid. The biggest thing is consent though, you have to make sure she’s OK with everything and never pressure a girl or I’ll find out and kick your ass myself.”

“I wouldn’t do that!”

“I know, I just had to say it. You understand?”

“Yeah, I get it.”

They walked back into the cabin and sat down at the table to play some cards. Merle still couldn’t get over the simple pleasures of no longer living in a warzone.

The phone rang then out of the blue and startled Daryl. It was the first time he had heard a phone since arriving at the cabin. Dale entered the room and it swiftly became obvious that the conversation revolved around Daryl.

“Who is it?” he whispered, afraid that it was his father.

Dale smiled and shook his head as if to say, ‘don’t worry’ and continued to speak.

The conversation ended, and Daryl asked immediately if he had to go back.

“That was a social worker assigned to your case, I’m going to meet with her about future custody for you, it’s nothing to worry about, son.”

“So, I’m not going back? Did my dad even ask about me?” Daryl pressed.

“Actually, it looks like he’s going to be in rehab for a while.”

“Rehab?”

“Some police came by and had a word with him about you and Merle, the social worker was with them and it looks like he agreed to seek treatment.”

“Jesus…” Merle exclaimed.

Neither of them ever thought their father would agree to such a thing. Ever since their mother died in a house fire, things just got steadily worse with no sign of improvement.

“I’m going to try to get you placed with Merle and I’ll do everything I can to make that happen as long as Merle keeps his shit straight,” Dale smiled.

“I’m going to, brother,” Merle added. “It’s all gonna be good now.”

/

Supper was pleasant because Gareth was hiding upstairs and didn’t want to talk to anyone. The whole dynamics of the cabin had changed with the loss of Mark and Andy and now Merle had his girl and  Daryl there. Gareth wasn’t the boss anymore and he obviously hated that.

Dale praised Daryl for his efforts to pull his marks up and Merle could see him drinking in the compliments over a nutritious meal. Merle loved to see his brother actually get what he needed in life for once.

/

When the house was silent late that night, Merle took a quick shower and used some of Dale’s aftershave in the bathroom before sneaking into Jen’s room.

He knocked softly at her door before entering and found her laying on her side in bed.

“You still want me to come in, or did you change your mind? It’s OK if you did.”

“I’m OK…come in.”

Merle had a feeling that she wanted to cuddle first, so he snuck in behind her in the bed and just kissed her neck once.

“I like holding you,” he breathed into her hair and she held his hand against her chest.

“I love you holding me,” she answered.

“We can just do this if you want to.”

“No…I want more.”

“Like what you said before?” he checked.

“Yes.”

Merle grinned and let his hand move slowly down her body to her bare legs under the covers.

“Tell me if you change your mind, I won’t be pissed.”

“OK.”

Merle rolled her onto her back to kiss her lips and moved his hand over her breasts through her t-shirt.

She moaned softly and very soon she opened her legs to cradle him between her thighs. Merle knew he could please her, but he couldn’t just go for it, in fact, he wouldn’t go down until she asked him to.

Merle held his hands on her waist and kissed her for a long time, until she was completely relaxed. He moved down to her neck then and let his hands roam all over her legs as her breathing changed.

With slow deep breaths in and out, she was falling under his spell nicely.

Merle lifted her t-shirt up eventually and began to lick her belly as she held his head against her body.

“You’re good,” she moaned.

“Thanks,” he chuckled. “Any suggestions?”

“No…just keep going.”

Merle kissed the elastic of her panties just below her belly button and she tensed up a little.

“Tell me the truth, Jen. Are you just doing this cause you think I’ll run off on you if you don’t?”

“No. I do want it, but sometimes I get tense even when I’m not upset…it’s just an automatic thing.”

“So, you’re really OK?”

“Yes…it feels really good. Please don’t stop.”

There was the green light he wanted.

Merle moved her thighs apart slow and moved his kisses down to the crotch of her panties with gentle pressure.

“Oh, damn,” she whimpered.

Merle continued to lay soft kisses all over her lips through the flowery cotton and she let her legs fall wide open after a few minutes just as he hoped.

He slid the material to the side and licked her closed lips with his hot tongue; she groaned deep in her chest indicating that all was going according to plan.

“Shhhh,” he grinned.

The girl was not good at keeping her pleasure quiet.

“I’m so close, baby…please.”

Merle moved his tongue between her lips then and ran it from her clit to her entrance like a teardrop down a cheek.

She hissed and grabbed for his head to keep him right there and he knew it wouldn’t be long.

Merle kept it light and didn’t hold her still like he sometimes did with other girls. He only lay his hands on her outer thighs but added no pressure. If she was about to freak out, he didn’t want to be restraining her.

“Damn…oh my God, Merle!” she whined, and he tried his best to hush her up.

“You’re gonna get us busted here,” he insisted.

“Please, don’t stop,” she pleaded.

Merle went back to it and gave up on silencing her as she began to crack. He slid one finger inside her and closed his lips around her clit for a second as she gasped in pleasure. He made another slow circle around her clit with his tongue and then she was done.

“Mmmmmm….oh yeah…”

He moved up the bed quickly to kiss her and shut her up, his lips still soaked with her cum. She grabbed him and pulled him in close with her legs around his back, his boxers becoming dampened with her wetness.

“You’re killin’ me, girl,” he growled.

“Maybe you could pull out…”

“Don’t you dare tempt me,” he groaned.

“I need you now…I need it so bad.”

“Jen…we can’t…”

“I know…but let me at least touch you back.”

Merle was blown out of his mind then, her wet mouth draining him of all his demons and controlling him with sweet, perfect pressure.

By the time he snuck back to his room, Merle knew he’d never do this with another girl. Jen was it for him and the knowledge of it was both exciting and terrifying.

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

“Andy, what’s going on, man?”

“Nothing much, my parents are still assholes and there’s nothing to do around here. I miss the cabin.”

“It ain’t even the same here, Andy. That new guy is on my fucking nerves.”

“Merle? He seemed OK to me.”

“He’s with Jen now and she’s already fucking him if you can believe that.”

“Serious, that’s crazy! He must have a magic cock or something.”

“Fuck her…she gave me a bunch of horseshit about not being ready for a relationship, but she’s just another lying slut like the rest of them.”

“Relax, she was just letting you down easy.”

“She let me down easy, so she can turn around and nail that redneck and then I have to listen to her moaning down the hall? That’s a bitch, my friend.”

“Let it go, there’s plenty other girls out there.”

“Nah, I’m gonna get rid of that guy.”

“How?”

“I’ll think of something. Once he’s gone, she’ll need a shoulder to cry on and I’ll tell her to take a hike.”

“You’re a sociopath, Gareth.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

/

“Did you do those questions I left you?” Carol asked as she unloaded her backpack full of textbooks onto Dale’s massive oak desk.

“I did, but I don’t know if they’re right,” Daryl sighed. “I got what you were saying and then as soon as I got to my room it was all just numbers again.”

“It’s all good, let’s just go over it again,” she smiled warmly, and Daryl felt better right away.

Maybe she thought he was a dumbass, but he was trying his best and as long as she knew that he was OK with it. She went over the same info from last time and looked over his questions to find only a few of them wrong.

“You’re getting it,” she praised.

Daryl watched as she reviewed the list of things he needed help with and his eyes burned at the sight of her skin, pale with light freckles. He loved her blue eyes and appreciated her no-nonsense way of speaking, he felt like he knew where he stood with her for the most part.

By the end of their study session, he was desperate to talk to her about something besides math, so he asked her about her plans for the future.

“You must be going to a big fancy college to become a lawyer or something,” he noted.

“I’m going to be a teacher, law school sounds too exhausting,” she sighed.

“You’d make a great teacher, you sure are helping me a lot…thanks.”

“It’s no problem.”

“You probably got better things to do than hang out with some dumb kid, but I appreciate it.”

“I don’t see you that way, Daryl, and you shouldn’t either.”

“You’re sweet.”

“I mean it, and you’re only a couple years younger than me, you aren’t a kid, Daryl.”

“Thanks. I bet you have a big burly quarterback boyfriend, hey?”

She laughed almost hysterically then.

“Not at all, guys like that don’t even talk to me, unless they’re calling me ‘bookworm’ or something,” she insisted as she gathered up her books.

“For real?” he asked.

“I’m a math dork, Daryl…the guys at my school aren’t exactly banging down my door.”

“They’re a pack of morons then,” he blurted before assessing that such a comment could make him look too needy.

Carol was silent for a few painful seconds as she appeared to be determining his sincerity.

“You mean it?”

“I can only speak for myself…but I can hardly take my eyes off you long enough to think straight about math,” he said honestly.

Daryl didn’t speak to girls this way, he was still at the fumbly, awkward stage of dating.

“Daryl, I don’t even know what to say.”

“It’s OK, you don’t have to say anything. I know I can’t have a girl like you, but I wanted you to know that I think you’re beautiful, even if those idiots at your school can’t see it.”

Her eyes moved to the door for a moment and then she was laying her hand on his thigh, moving in to kiss his lips. Then she was gone.

He held his breath till he heard her downstairs talking to Dale, then a grin spread across his face. He had just been kissed by an 18-year-old, life was sweet.

/

Jen was in Merle’s room when Daryl went up to tell him and he was annoyed at first to find that this new girl appeared to be his brother’s keeper already.

“Where’s Merle?”

“I think he’s chopping wood,” she answered.

“Oh.”

“How was your studying?”

“Good.”

_Why did she care?_

“Making any progress with Carol?”

“That fuckin’ big mouth!” Daryl growled, presuming that his brother had told her.

“Relax, he didn’t say anything, it was just a lucky guess.”

“Oh.”

“So, you making progress?” she grinned.

“Actually, yeah…she kissed me.”

“Nice! She’s older than you too. You’re a lady-killer,” she praised.

Daryl hesitated in the door for a moment before drawing up his courage.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

Daryl walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed.

“You ain’t gonna laugh?”

“Of course not,” she assured him.

“I’ve never had sex before. Will she be able to tell if this goes any further?”

“If she likes you, it won’t matter.”

“Are you just being nice?” he frowned.

“The thing is, Daryl. A guy could have been with a hundred girls, but if he doesn’t pay attention to what a girl likes then it won’t matter either way. Experience is OK, but what a girl really wants is a guy who makes her feel special, and safe and a guy who takes the time to learn what she likes.”

“Huh.”

Daryl really thought about it and shrugged his shoulders, it was hard to believe that Carol wouldn’t just laugh at his guesswork. He didn’t know what girls liked, he didn’t know what felt good and he had no confidence.

“I know you won’t believe me when I say this, but a girl would rather have a guy who really cares doing things a little wrong than a guy who doesn’t give a shit about her doing everything right.”

“Do girls…” he couldn’t finish the sentence, but she guessed somehow anyway.

“We really don’t care that much how big it is, we care that you care.”

“And you aren’t just making me feel better?”

“No, I really mean it.”

Daryl nodded and said thank you before retreating back to his room. Jen grinned to herself and couldn’t help liking Daryl right away.

/

Merle was standing in the back yard when Dale returned from taking Carol home.

“Hey, Merle.”

“Hey.”

“I wanted to let you know that I have a new place to send Gareth, but don’t say anything to him.”

“I won’t. When is he going?”

“Three days.”

“I don’t get him, the guy just seems to hate everyone,” Merle noted.

“He wasn’t ready for this place when he got here…I was trying to help a friend out, but he drags everyone down,” Dale sighed. “Is Jen doing OK?”

“Seems to be.”

“Good. I’m gonna just watch him and not say anything until I absolutely have to about the transfer,” Dale added.

“Sounds like a plan, I won’t say anything.”

/

Gareth watched down from the second-floor window as Dale patted Merle on the back and turned to walk back inside the cabin, Merle was going to get it, Gareth’s tolerance was its end.

 

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Daryl stood naked before the bathroom mirror and flexed his 16-year-old muscles, hoping he looked stronger than the night before. He had chopped wood and cleared brush for 3 hours expecting some kind of overnight miracle. He dried off and got dressed to meet with Carol, hoping like hell she’d still feel the same.

/

Carol smiled in the same friendly way when the door closed but she said nothing about the kiss as he began to work on the questions she handed him.

“Carol?”

After 10 minutes he couldn’t stand it and he had to know. She was sat next to him at the desk but may as well have been a mile away.

“Yes?”

“Do you regret it? You can tell me if you do and I’ll just leave it alone.”

“I just don’t want to distract you…and it feels like I was taking advantage somehow,” she answered, her eyes pleading for him to understand.

“It’s an age thing, huh?”

“Not entirely, I’m not sure what my uncle would think about it…I want him to trust me.”

“I get it,” Daryl nodded, he wanted to be grown up about it and he was used to hiding that he was hurt. “Still, it was nice for me anyway.”

“I’m sorry, Daryl.”

“It’s OK. I get it, I just need to stop thinking about you now and get my mind on my work I guess.”

“I was thinking about you too,” she said softly. “That’s what’s scaring me so much…I do think about you.”

“Yeah?” Daryl grinned, he was 16, he couldn’t help it.

“Yes, I think I could have taken that kiss a lot further and it’s just not like me to break the rules…”

“I’ve broken a lot of rules in my life…what’s one more?” he winked, not expecting her to do anything but laugh but then she was suddenly so close, close enough to touch.

Daryl’s face was claimed in her soft hands and she was kissing him so deep.

Blood rushed around his body in confusion and the taste of her strawberry lip gloss intoxicated him. His hands moved up her arms to her shoulders and with his eyes closed he just let his mind roam free. Carol was the hottest girl he’d ever seen up close and her kissing him felt like a fantasy, foggy and unstable within reality. It felt like one wrong move and she’d be gone, disappearing like a balloon up into the sky.

Sun shined in through the window onto her face and when he snuck a peek at her, he could have counted her eyelashes they were so close.

Her tongue moved against his own like they’d been kissing for a long time, nothing awkward about it, and when he touched her waist she didn’t flinch. Heat smouldered between them and by the time they broke it up, he had grazed his touch over her breasts through her t-shirt and she had kissed his neck. Daryl could barely function when she left, but it was more than just her kiss, he wanted her for his own.

/

Everyone was sat around the dinner table that evening, having a great time, when Dale noted that the key to his gun cabinet was missing.

“It’s not the kind of thing I can get away with losing around here,” he sighed heavily.

Merle noted that Gareth didn’t look surprised but didn’t have anything on him in terms of proof. The idea of Gareth having access to guns made him very nervous, especially when Merle was likely at the top of his shit list.

“None of you have seen the keychain with the American flag on it?” he pleaded.

“I haven’t seen it, Dale, but where did you have it last? We’ll help you look,” Jen smiled.

“I always keep it in my office, there’s no reason it shouldn’t still be there…damn it!” Dale exclaimed. “I’ll get my ass handed to me if I can’t find it.”

“Relax, man. We’ll find it,” Merle assured him.

Merle, Jen and Daryl all searched the upper level of the cabin and left no stone unturned. None of them wanted to see Dale get into trouble and this was something that could be a huge problem for him.

/

“Dale…”

“What?”

He was pulling the cushions of the couch up and sticking his hand down the back of the sofa to feel for the keys when Gareth spoke up.

“It’s about Jen and Merle…I don’t like to snitch, but I feel like I have to.”

Dale frowned as he stood up and focused on the boy he barely trusted.

“What is it?”

“I heard them talking…Merle wants to go after her dad.”

“That doesn’t sound like him,” Dale countered.

“So, he just got here and already you believe him over me?”

“I didn’t say that; it’s just that he’s been so positive lately. He wants to make a go of it with Jen and look out for Daryl.”

“You want to find that key, I guarantee it’s in his room,” Gareth growled.

“Gareth…”

“He said something about blowing his brains out for touching her…Jen’s dad is a pervert, everyone knows that.”

Dale said he’d look into it but didn’t really believe that Merle would go to those lengths.

“He could get someone killed and then what will happen to this place,” Gareth added before walking away.

Dale didn’t want to believe that Merle would go overboard that way, but he also couldn’t risk the cabin.

/

“What do you think happened to the keys?”  Jen mused as she searched the upstairs level with Merle and Daryl.

“I have an inkling,” Merle muttered.

“You don’t think he’d do that, do you?”

Jen seemed to realize it was more than possible the moment the words left her lips.

“He did, didn’t he?” she sighed.

“I think so, and I’d go knock his block off right now, but he also might have a damn gun.”

Jen stood up straight and bit her lip, skimming through her memories for evidence of danger. There was no denying that Gareth was capable of something dark, something she wanted no part of.

“So, what do we do?” she asked.

“I don’t know, but I’m not letting that prick ruin shit for me or hurt anybody.”

“I hate him,” she snarled. “Why can’t some people just take no for an answer?”

“I don’t know, but we’ll figure this out, OK?”

“OK,” she nodded. “I’m putting all my faith in you.”

Merle almost winced, but then he just assured her that she could.

“Those keys aren’t up here,” Daryl called from his new room. “We looked everywhere.”

“Yeah, well we are starting to think Gareth has something to do with this,” Jen sighed.

“But why?”

“He’s just trying to get back at me,” Merle explained. “He’s got it out for me cause I’m with Jen.”

“Go kick his ass then,” Daryl muttered.

“He might have a weapon, Daryl. If he has the keys, then he could be armed.”

“Fuck,” Daryl growled. “I ain’t safe anywhere, am I?”

“Hey, I’m gonna take care of this, Daryl. Don’t worry, but I do want you and Jen to stay up here while I go talk to Dale.”

“Are you sure?” Jen asked. “I can come with you.”

“Nah, I need you to watch him,” Merle winked toward Daryl.

 

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

**<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CykE5DFJVr0> **

**I want you - Elvis Costello**

**Seriously, this is a GREAT song! Please listen to it before you read this chapter;)**

**This song is very slow and sexy but also very dark and obsessive. It's meant to be sexy because Merle and Jen are together but also shows the inner emotions of Gareth and how much he's seething over losing Jen to Merle.**

* * *

 

**Chapter 14**

Merle found Dale in his office and knocked at the door for once.

“Come in, son.” 

Merle entered and closed the door, so they could speak privately.

“Where is Gareth?” Merle asked.

“His room.”

“I’m not behind this, Dale.”

“What the hell is happening around here, Merle?”

“He’s got it out for me, I think it’s about Jen…or he just hates me, I can’t say for sure.”

“So, you’re saying that he probably has the keys?”

“That would be my guess, or he planted them on one of us, in our rooms or something.”

“I believe you,” Dale sighed. “But I need those keys, I need to know if any weapons are missing. If someone gets hurt, I’ll never forgive myself and this place will close forever.”

“Maybe…”

“What?”

“He trusts Andy, maybe he would tell him about it.”

“That’s a thought, but what do I do about him tonight?” Dale sighed. “If I tell the authorities about this, they’ll try to shut me down…but I can’t risk anyone’s life here. I just wish I knew if the guns were in there, I’d actually be able to sleep.”

Merle wondered if offering to pick the lock would gain him less trust, but he wanted Dale to be able to sleep and he needed to know if the guns were accounted for himself. Maybe they were in Dale’s cabin, but he still considered himself to be responsible for Daryl.

“I could pick it,” he said softly.

“You could?”

“Yeah, I think so, it’s an older cabinet so if I had a hairpin and a butter knife I probably could.”

“I do need to know if any guns are missing, so go ahead,” Dale sighed.

Merle gathered the things he needed and in less than ten minutes he had the door to cabinet opened; all of the weapons were there.

“Thank Christ,” Dale groaned. “I’m getting this cabinet the hell out of here tonight, I can drive it to my sister’s place. Will you be OK for an hour while I get rid of this?”

“Yeah, we’ll load it up and Gareth doesn’t even have to know you’re gone, he’s still in his room.”

“I won’t be long, thanks a lot, Merle.”

“No problem.”

/

Merle let out a long sigh as Dale drove away with the gun cabinet, the place was safe, and Dale believed him, all was well.

Merle walked up the stairs to check on Daryl, but he was already sleeping so he continued on to Jen’s room where Elvis Costello was playing behind the door.

**_I want you_ **   
**_You've had your fun, you don't get well no more_ **   
**_I want you_ **   
**_Your fingernails go dragging down the wall_ **   
**_Be careful darling, you might fall_ **   
**_I want you_ **   
**_I woke up and one of us was crying_ **   
**_I want you_ **   
**_You said "young man I do believe you're dying"_ **   
**_I want you_ **   
**_If you need a second opinion as you seem to do these days_ **   
**_I want you_ **   
**_You can look in my eyes and you can count the ways_ **

“Hey,” he knocked lightly.

“Come in.”

“You OK?”

“Daryl went off to sleep. What’s happening?”

“Nothing was taken out of the cabinet, but he still doesn’t have the keys…I told him that Gareth probably has them, and he believes me.”

“But how-”

“I picked the lock, he wanted to be sure they were all accounted for. Dale left to take the cabinet to his sister’s place. At least we know he’s not armed.”

“Thank God,” she sighed. “I still don’t feel safe though, he’s nuts.”

“Come here,” Merle smiled. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

And just like that, she was in his arms again, a little afraid and seeking comfort…the perfect recipe for teen lust.

_**I want you** _   
_**Did you mean to tell me but seem to forget?** _   
_**I want you** _   
_**Since when were you so generous and inarticulate?** _   
_**I want you** _   
_**It's the stupid details that my heart is breaking for** _   
_**It's the way your shoulders shake and what they're shaking for** _   
_**It's knowing that he knows you now after only guessing** _   
_**I want you** _   
_**It's the thought of him undressing you or you undressing** _

Merle was pulled into her orbit, where nothing and no one could draw him away. The way her eyes pleaded for his reassurance and for his touch made his blood boil. He’d stop if she asked him to, but something said that she wasn’t about to this time. In the wingbeat of an angel, he was on top of her with her legs wrapped around his back, urging him against her with such need.

“I need you…”

“But, what about-”

“Just pull out,” she begged.

"We can't do that."

"Please...I need you."

“But, are you sure?”

“Please.”

It was stupid, and he knew it from the moment she said it, but he couldn’t stop.

He kissed her feverishly and ran his hands down the backs of her bare thighs to her ass, pulling her pelvis up to meet his needy cock.

“Damn,” he panted into her neck and then he felt her tongue on his ear and her hand fighting with the button and fly of his jeans.

She soon had his cock in her hand, working him into a frenzy and whispering breathless words into his skin.

“Take me, Merle…I never wanted anyone this way…you’re the only one for me…”

 _ **I want you**_  
 _ **He tossed some tattered compliment your way**_  
 _ **I want you**_  
 _ **And you were fool enough to love it when he said**_  
 _ **"I want you"**_  
 _ **I want you**_  
 _ **The truth can't hurt you, it's just like the dark**_  
 _ **It scares you witless**_  
 _ **But in time you see things clear and stark...**_  


Merle tore her panties down her legs and there was no fear or reservation in her eyes. This was it. Her t-shirt was yanked up over her head and she pulled him to her breasts, offering every inch of herself to him.

Mouthfuls of her tender flesh left him hungrier with each passing second. His hand found her wet lips in the dark and he stroked her clit gently as she cried out for more.

“Shhh…honey…shhh…”

“I…I can’t…”

He covered her mouth lightly with his free hand and she licked his fingers, almost making him cum in his pants as he teased her.

“I’m gonna cum, Merle…slide into me so you can feel it,” she whined, and he couldn’t resist.

Merle pushed his jeans down enough to release his dick and moved between her thighs to claim her.

“Are you really sure?” he checked.

“Yes.”

Inch by inch, he took her slow and easy, watching the expression on her face twist in sweet agony and pleasure.

“That’s good, baby…oh my God that’s so good," she whimpered.

His cock was held so tight inside her and he could feel her heels resting on his ass as he began to move. Her body was made for him, he was sure of it.

“You fuck me so good, Merle…don’t ever let me go…”

Merle was right there on the edge, his mouth sucking at her right nipple and a firm hand under her ass pulling her pelvis up to meet with his onslaught. It was the best sexual experience of his life, nothing felt as incredible as her body and the nothing sounded as sweet as her whispered words in his ear.

It was all he could do to pull out to cum on her belly, but he managed to do it.

“That ain’t happening again without protection,” he panted as he collapsed at her side.

“Deal…I just needed you so bad I couldn't help it.”

The downstairs door slammed then, and Merle frowned in confusion. Dale couldn’t be back already…

 

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

“What was that?” Jen exclaimed, sitting straight up in bed.

“I’ll go check, you stay here.”

Jen didn’t do as he asked and was up getting cleaned up and dressed as fast as he was.

Merle headed straight for Daryl’s room and knew there was a problem instantly when he found the door open. 

“Shit!” Merle huffed.

“What?”

“Daryl’s not in his room. Daryl!” Merle called out into the dark.

Down the stairs and into the kitchen, Merle knew damn well that Gareth had gone off the edge and that Daryl was in danger. Just for a moment, he indulged in his lust for Jen and now Daryl was gone. Merle doubted his ability to protect everyone then.

_Who was he fooling?_

_How could he think it would all be OK?_

Jen was right behind him and he wanted to tell her to stay put, but he also didn’t want to go alone.

“There!” Jen squeaked suddenly; her eyes focused out the kitchen window. “I just saw a flashlight way out in the bush. Let’s go!”

She was out the back door in a flash and Merle simply followed. He didn’t get it, why would Gareth mess with Daryl?

“Gareth!” he hollered. “Gareth, stop fucking around out here!”

“Merle!”

It was Daryl calling and Merle’s blood ran cold.

“Daryl!”

“Over here,” Jen urged and ran toward the sound.

Merle was hot on her heels into the trees, almost losing track of her in the dark only feet ahead of himself.

They caught up to Gareth in a clearing, his arm wrapped around Daryl’s neck and a box knife in his hand. Daryl’s eye was black and puffy, Merle was angrier in that moment than he knew how to handle but flying into a rage could get his baby brother killed.

“Jesus Christ, Gareth!” Merle exclaimed. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Fuck you, Merle! You come in here and act like the fucking golden boy, but you’re shit just like the rest of us.”

“I know! But I’m just trying to fix the shit I broke, Gareth.”

“You look down your nose at me like I’m a fucking animal! I know you told her what happened!” he screamed. “You told her that I’m shit just so you could get into her panties, right?

“Gareth…”

Merle wished he hadn’t said anything to Jen then, but how could he keep it from her?

“I see how she looks at me now…she thought I was shit before, but now it’s like I’m not even human! That fucking girl wanted it!” he insisted; his eyes wild with rage. “You didn’t hear the way she moaned…she wanted it!”

“What’s the plan, Gareth? You won’t hurt Daryl…you’re not like that…” Merle insisted.

_Was he trying to make him feel better just so he’d let his brother go? Yes._

“I know what you think of me, so what does it matter if I hurt him. You made Jen think I’m scum, Merle…maybe you were right,” he grinned. “Maybe I am scum.”

The box cutter was inches from Daryl’s throat and Merle couldn’t take it.

“Please…please don’t hurt him, Gareth…you win. I’m sorry for saying anything, I shouldn’t have done that. Just please don’t hurt him. He’s all I have.”

He felt no compunction in begging, he would do anything to help his brother.

“Gareth…please...I know you’re not a bad person,” Jen added. “I’m sorry too. I’m so sorry, just please let him go…please.”

Daryl’s eyes were closed, and Merle held his stare, helpless for a moment until he saw a tree branch move in the darkness behind Gareth’s left shoulder.

Dale held his finger to his lips, instructing them to not make a peep as he brought a heavy tree branch down on Gareth’s head.

Daryl fell to the ground on his knees and held his hand to his throat where a small cut was beginning to bleed.

“Let me see!” Dale exclaimed. “How bad is it? I’m sorry, I didn’t know what the hell to do!”

“It’s OK, I think,” Daryl assured him. “He just nicked me.”

Merle pulled him to his feet and held him close for a long time as Jen and Dale tended to Gareth.

Maybe nowhere was safe, maybe Daryl was right. Merle hated that everywhere they went, there was trouble, but he was still resolved to doing it right. He wanted to kill people like Gareth, Jen’s stepdad, his own dad, but then they’d win.

It was in that moment, looking down at Gareth on the dirt, that he promised to fight the world’s bullshit with success. He was going to make it, so was Daryl and so was Jen.

The lost children of abuse were going to rise above it all, nothing would stop them.

/

Gareth was taken to the hospital for a suspected concussion and everything around the cabin should have felt calmer that night, but it didn’t. Dale had to phone Gareth’s father and tried to explain how things had gone off the rails. Merle and Jen worried about Daryl, and about the cabin being closed for good.

“I just want a normal life,” Daryl sighed.

Merle insisted that he stay in bed and sat on a chair on the other side of the room to talk.

“It will be normal. I’m gonna do everything I can to make it better…I’m just sorry that he came after you to get to me.”

“That guy is fucking nuts, it ain’t your fault.”

“I wanna do right by you, Daryl.”

“You are…and if you still believe it can be good then I’ll believe it too.”

“I probably would have given in by now, but you deserve better than all this shit and I’m the only one here to give you more.”

“We could do it, have our own place and actually make something of ourselves, I can see it,” Daryl smiled.

“The name Dixon can mean more than it did in the past, we can be the ones to do that.”

“Jen is nice, I talked to her about Carol.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, we could make a go of it living with her. She can’t go home either, hey?”

“No, she can’t.”

Silence fell between them and nothing more needed to be said that night.

“Just get a good rest tonight, brother. Tomorrow it’s all gonna be OK.”

“What about Dale? Won’t he be in trouble?”

“We can all explain what happened if we have to, I won’t shut up until the authorities listen.”

“Me too. Goodnight, Merle.”

“Night.”

/

Dale called from the hospital to check on them after midnight and said that Gareth was just fine, no concussion.

“I had to explain to the police, and they asked about getting statements from you three,” Dale sighed. “I need to run things differently there, I need help.”

“What do you mean?” Merle asked.

“I’ll talk to you about it tomorrow.”

“Are you in trouble, Dale?”

“I ironed things out with Gareth’s father and he’s not pressing charges, but things need to change around the cabin. I’ll be back soon.”

“Take it easy, Dale.”

Merle didn’t know what else to say. He was feeling affection for Dale as if he was a father figure perhaps and didn’t know how to express it.

“Thanks, son. Jen and Daryl OK?”

“Yeah, we’re all good. See you soon.”

/

Merle stopped by Jen’s room, where she was sitting up in bed wide awake.

“You OK?”

“Yeah…Daryl OK?”

“Yeah. It’s all gonna be good now.”

Jen just smiled at him and he could see that she believed him. He wanted to be the strong one to reassure everyone else when they needed it. Merle had needed a figure like that as a child, someone to tell him that no matter what, everything would be OK. He would be that man for Daryl and Jen if it killed him.

Merle felt so old at only almost 18 years of age, but he could handle it, he had to.

Crawling onto Jen’s bed, he collapsed with his head resting in her lap and closed his eyes to rest. She lay her warm hand on his cheek and told him she loved him then and a smile spread across his face.

“Love you too, Jen…so much.”

 

 


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Daryl lay in bed the next day, when Merle wouldn’t let him get up, and felt bored to tears. His thoughts drifted to Carol as he eyed the empty plate that had held his breakfast of French toast. She was so sweet, so beautiful and as if by a miracle he heard her voice downstairs. 

Dale had gotten home late but ran into town early to meet with authorities in child welfare about the cabin; apparently, he had brought back Carol with him. Daryl was both excited to see her and terrified of her seeing his black eye, she’d think he couldn’t handle himself. There was no hiding it though, and when he heard a knock on the door, he knew it was her.

“Come in.”

“Hey,” she smiled. “You OK?”

“Yeah, sure. It looks worse than it is,” he assured her.

“That asshole, I can’t believe he pulled that with you. You must have been so scared,” she winced.

“He sucker-punched me while I was asleep and dragged me outside with a knife to my throat, no biggie,” he tried to joke, but she wasn’t falling for it. “Yeah…it was pretty scary.”

Carol came and sat on the edge of his bed and he shifted nervously in only a pair of boxers and a t-shirt, surely, he was about to get hard. Her black leggings and a sleeveless red top had him aching to touch her. Carol never wore makeup and she didn’t need it, she looked perfect without it.

“My uncle told me what happened when he stopped by, and I had to come see you.”

“Yeah?”

“I had to see that you were OK with my own eyes,” she smiled.

“Carol…”

She kissed him then and he shut his fool mouth to kiss her right back. Daryl never dreamed of having a girl like Carol, and this was more than just study time games, he could feel it now.

“I want to make you feel better,” she breathed into his neck and it sent a shiver through his young body.

“You are making me feel better,” he whispered.

“So, you don’t want more?”

“Like what?” he grinned.

“Like…maybe I could touch you,” she pressed.

“Damn…OK.”

Carol ran her tongue up the shell of his ear as her hand crept under the edge of the blanket. He felt her fingers close around his dick through the thin cotton of his boxers and his leg jerked involuntarily.

“You OK?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s all good…I do this all the time…I’m fine.”

He winced, knowing that he’d given away the truth like an idiot.

“Daryl, have you never done this?”

“Will you leave if I tell you the truth?” he winced.

“No.”

“I haven’t done that much with girls, and I never had a girl touch me like that…fuck, I must seem like a child to you now.”

“That doesn’t matter, I just need to know if you’re ready for it.”

“I really like you, Carol, and I am ready…but if you laugh, I think I’ll kill myself.”

“I would never do that, Daryl…not in a hundred years.”

She kissed him again and he felt stupid, but still turned on. It took a few minutes for him to get over his embarrassment, but the moment her hand slipped inside his boxers he felt just fine.

“Damn,” she whined.

“What?”

“You’re packin’ heat, Daryl…you’re so sexy,” she purred.

“Stop,” he blushed.

“I mean it.”

She stroked him nice and easy and kissed his mouth, neck and chest as she cranked up the heat.

“Jesus,” he gasped as the first waves of orgasm crept up on him.

“That’s right…let it go, it’s OK,” she whispered.

“Holy Christ,” he moaned, it was too much to bear.

Her head moved down his body then kiss by kiss and then under the sheet.

**_Shit! Shit! Holy shit! This is happening!”_ **

Carol’s warm wet lips moved up and down the shaft of his cock and he looked down at his lap to watch the madness. He watched her tongue drift around the head of his dick and inhaled sharply, trying hard not to cum too fast. It was a short-lived effort though, as his dick slowly disappeared into her slippery hot mouth.

“Oh Christ, Carol!” he groaned, and it was over.

To his astonishment, she swallowed it all and simply ran her wrist across her lips afterward.

“You…oh my God…damn,” he stumbled.

“Feel better?” she giggled as she lay her head on his chest.

“Yeah…I never felt this good before in my whole damn life.”

“So, you don’t think I’m a dirty old lady?” she teased.

“Hell no, that was amazing. But can I touch you back next time, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, but maybe you could teach me that too,” he winked.

“Be happy to.”

/

“You’re shittin’ me, right?” Merle exclaimed.

“Nope.”

“Well, damn, little brother. Congrats.”

“You ain’t mad?”

“I can’t expect you to turn that down, you’re only human after all. So, how was it?”

“Didn’t last long, but holy Jesus it was good,” he laughed.

“Never lasts long the first time,” Merle chuckled. “You two a thing then?”

“Yeah, she said she’s gonna tell Dale, so I don’t have to.”

“She’s a doll.”

“She’s a fuckin’ angel,” Daryl sighed.

/

“So, what’s the word on this place?” Merle asked Dale when they were alone that evening. Dale had mentioned wanting to talk to him about the future of the cabin and it had left him dying of curiosity.

“I need more staff around here, I just never had enough money to pay anyone…I still don’t really.”

Merle waited for him to explain why this had anything to do with him, it didn’t make sense why Dale would discuss his facility with him.

“I was thinking that maybe you could stay, along with Jen and Daryl.”

“Stay here?”

“For a while anyway, maybe a year or so, while Jen and Daryl are finishing school?”

Merle couldn’t think of anything to say in return, so he just awaited more explanation.

“I was thinking about it, and it makes sense in a way, right? They need to finish school and you need to find a job to support two people, and I need people to help me run this place.”

“You want us to work here?”

“I can’t pay much but room and board would be covered, and I can drive them into the city for school every day. You could help the new batch of kids get on the straight and narrow, Merle…I think you’d be good at this. If you don’t like it, you could always move along whenever you’re ready.”

“Dale…this is incredible,” he grinned. “I’ve been losing my mind trying to think of how I’ll support them both. I want to find a stable job and maybe get an education too, I want more now thanks to you.”

“I trust you, Merle. I think we could get this place working for more kids, but I can’t do it alone, I can see that now.”

“I’m in,” Merle smiled, holding out his hand to shake on it.

/

Merle walked back to Jen’s room on a cloud, he was so proud to have made such an impression on a man like Dale and he wanted to celebrate with some nooky. He felt unstoppable, but something made him pause on the way to her door, he needed to be responsible.

He walked back down the steps and asked Dale about stopping by the pharmacy for him. Dale was impressed with his thinking.

“Nice to see you thinking ahead like this, Merle. If she wants to see a doctor about birth control, I’ll happily take her for that too. You two could really make it if you can avoid an unexpected pregnancy along the way.”

“I wasn’t sure if you’d get mad about this, but I don’t want to get me and her in a situation.”

“I’m not delusional, I know you two are gonna want to be intimate and it’s better for the both of you to not become parents now.”

“Definitely. Thanks a lot.”

“No problem, I’ll have something for you by tonight.”

/

“He did what?” she laughed.

“He’s picking up condoms for us.”

“I can’t believe you asked him, you have got some balls, boy,” she winked.

“You know it,” he grinned. “He also offered us a place to stay and jobs.”

“Huh?”

“He said we can stay here while you and Daryl finish school and I can help out around the place.”

“Are you serious? That’s perfect.”

“Who would have thought we’d want to stay in jail?” he laughed.

“I was scared of how we’d manage on only one income, I know you would have cared for us, but it would have been a huge burden for one man.”

“We’re gonna make it, honey.”

“I like that, keep calling me honey,” she sighed, pulling him in for a hot kiss.

Nothing was going to stop them now.

“Where’s Daryl?” Merle asked.

“Still laying in bed, watching a movie when I checked a few minutes ago,” she assured him.

“Well then, we got time for some kissin’ then, hey?”

“Come here,” she squealed.

 

 

 


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Gareth was gone, and the cabin was a peaceful place again. Merle and Jen were discussing plans for the cabin when new kids would be joining them. Dale had an idea to add another cabin to the property; life was good for once and Daryl had only one thing on his mind. He worked on the questions Carol had left him diligently after she hinted that there would be rewards for getting his work completed.

Daryl sat at the kitchen table while Dale sketched out a drawing of what a second cabin could look like. He mused about government grants, donations and a second mortgage on the existing cabin to make it all feasible. Merle and Dale were determined to build upon the existing facility and not let the mishap with Gareth ruin what could be a great place for troubled kids.

Carol would be coming again when she was finished school and Daryl waited in heated anticipation of her arrival all day.

He wondered if she would be his first or if he could please her the way she pleased him, and how he could possibly control the throbbing inside.

He waited until Dale left with Jen to pick up Carol and decided to ask Merle about it.

“I think I’m gonna try some stuff with Carol today if she’s into it.”

“Yeah?” Merle winced. “Just take it slow, brother, and don’t push yourself.”

“I won’t.”

Merle decided to hand him some condoms just in case and explained how to use them. The last thing he needed was for his baby brother to impregnate his new boss’s niece.

“Just be careful, OK? I ain’t gonna tell you not to have sex, but you need to think about your future too. You aren’t ready to be a father.”

“I know, I get it.”

“Good.”

/

Daryl gathered up his books to wait for Carol in Dale’s office and when she arrived, he knew it was on. She was in a sundress with thin straps over her bare shoulders and no bra, that was obvious.

“So, you finished all the questions?” she purred.

“Yep, and I know they’re right too. Quiz me all ya like,” he winked.

The door was locked, and she walked back toward him with the look of the devil in her eyes. Daryl was in 16-year-old heaven with Carol, nothing could improve his life in that moment.

She lay her hand on his shoulder as he sat in Dale’s leather office chair and settled herself down on his lap. Daryl kissed her hot and dirty as she moved on his lap, pulling him through a ring of fire where the end was in sight.

“Damn,” he panted, laying his hands on her bare thighs and allowing them to slide up under her dress to her panties.

“I thought about you last night, while I touched myself,” she whined, and he was done.

“I need to make you cum, Carol…I need to taste you.”

He didn’t have a clue beyond the tips he received from Merle, but he was ready to dive in head first as it were. A few more minutes with her straddling him, pulling down the front of her dress to offer him her breasts, and he was ready.

“Sit there,” he instructed, faking dominance until the shoe fit.

“I like this side of you,” she grinned, sitting on the edge of her uncle’s desk and awaiting whatever came next.

Daryl looked up into her eyes, those crystal blue eyes, and then down at her bare knees before his face. He bent his head down to kiss her knee and her hand moved to touch his cheek.   
“Don’t do anything you’re not ready for,” she whispered.   
“I’m ready,” he growled.   
Daryl wanted to taste her, to run his tongue all over her womanhood, to find all the buttons she needed to be pushed.   
“Open your legs,” he said, and his eyes burned up into hers.   
“Damn,” she grinned, moving her knees apart, revealing sweet pink panties to him.   
Daryl went right for it, kissing up her inner thighs, being drawn to the warmth of her sacred space like a moth to a flame.   
He could only imagine how soft those lips were and how wet, he couldn’t wait to lick her there but had to do as Merle instructed, his brother knew the way.   
He kissed the damp crotch of her panties and then gently ran the tip of his nose from the top to the bottom of the silky material, making her moan and spread her legs wider.   
“There’s no way you’re new at this,” she argued.   
“I really am...want more?”  
“Fuck yes.”  
He slid her panties to the side and eyed the perfect slit before him. Smooth, and just a hint of slick wetness between the folds of skin. Daryl needed her fully exposed, so he pulled at the waistband of her panties as she lifted her ass to assist him.

_Fuuuuuuck me!  This is really happening. I got a girl out of her panties and I’m actually gonna eat pussy…fuck!  
_

Daryl licked up one side and then down the other and drank in her praise in the form of moans and bated breath. The taste of ocean waves with a hint of sweetness left him drunk with desire. He held her by her open thighs and felt her fingers run through his hair as his tongue slid between her lips.

“Jesus…oh my God, Daryl…”

He kept his tongue soft and explored her body with it, every fold, every crevice, right to her clit where the end game resided.

Merle had told him to get her ready for it before he went there, tease her first and then she’d be more receptive.

_The clit is sensitive as fuck, brother, don’t go there till she’s damn near beggin’ you for it. Go in too fast without checkin’ out the scenery and she won’t be happy, that’s my experience anyway._

Daryl finally got there when she was breathing heavy and pulling his face closer with both hands. One slow circle around her clit with his soft tongue and she made a sweet pitiful sound of surrender.

Daryl loved this and by the sound of it, she did too. He decided to really go for it and brought his right hand up between her legs to finger her as his tongue lay waste to her clit.

“Oh fuck! Jesus, yes!”

“Shhh…” he chuckled, hoping like hell Dale wouldn’t come banging at the door.

She lay back on the desktop then and spread her legs wide, inviting his best moves and he went for it a little more enthusiastically, fingering her with two fingers and sucking gently at her lips.

“Mmmmmm….yeah!”

He could feel it, deep inside her, a fluttering of tightening walls and additional wetness. He drank her cum eagerly, still gripping her open thighs and moaning into her flesh.

It took a moment for her to speak, and when she did, he knew it was all good. The quest was a success.

“Daryl…that was insane. I never felt anything that good in my whole life.”

“Thank God. I just wanted to please you, Carol. I love you.”

He was 16 and he did love her, so it made sense to him to blurt it out.

“You love me?”

“Of course. Don’t you love me too?” he frowned.

“Yes, Daryl…I think I do,” she smiled.

“Good enough for me,” he grinned. “I said that too fast, huh?”

“No, I want you to always be honest with me. I’m happy you said it first.”

“I can’t help it sometimes, I blurt shit out when I get excited. You make me feel excited about everything, Carol.”

“You are too sweet for words, Daryl Dixon,” she sighed.

“I can’t take you out nowhere or anything at the moment, but you’re the only girl for me. Can I still be your boyfriend?”

“Of course, come here,” she insisted, pulling him in for a long kiss.

 

 

 

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

** Chapter 18 **

** Two Weeks Later… **

Jen decided that proceeding with telling the authorities about her stepdad was important and that she should also get some counselling. Things with Merle were great, but she needed to fully let go of the past to make things work long term. The dreams were still there some nights, but Dale said she wasn’t screaming anymore, so there was some improvement.

She enrolled in the same high school as Daryl and they’d be able to hang out together at least. In a month, she would be a high school student again, and she was actually excited. Merle was going to be with Dale all day building a new cabin and working his ass off, she was proud of him.

Jen was excited to know she wouldn’t have to go home, and that Dale would be her guardian for the next year.

She watched as her man chopped wood in the backyard of the cabin for the fireplace as Dale measured out a plot of land next to the current cabin. Life was on the upswing for the first time and she was eager to see what the future would bring.

/

“I think you’re caught up,” Carol grinned. “Is there anything else you think you need help with?”

“You gonna stop coming to see me if I say no?” he grinned.

“Nah, I think I can still find a reason to visit,” she winked.

Carol spoke to her uncle Dale about her feelings for Daryl and he took it well. He did sit Daryl down to have a man-to-man chat with him about making smart decisions and considering Carol’s future though.

Daryl promised he would keep his mind on the future and not do anything to prevent Carol from pursuing her dreams.

Both Merle and Daryl couldn’t wrap their minds around an adult trusting them the way Dale did, it was new and addictive. Daryl swore to himself that he wouldn’t do anything to betray the faith Dale had in him. He tried not to see him as a father figure, having someone to lose besides Merle was a scary prospect, but he couldn’t help it.

/

“So, you’ll be back at school soon. You ready?”

Merle came to check on him that evening before sneaking into Jen’s room for the night. Everyone at the cabin knew he slept there but he kept up the pretence of sleeping in his room for some strange reason.

“I’m ready, thanks to Carol. Without her help, I might not have made it back to school at all, I was so damn far behind.”

“She must be a good teacher.”

“She is, and she’s gonna be a great official teacher when she’s done school. Just having someone explain shit to me without looking at me like I’m defective was new. She believes in me.”

“This is what I wanted for you, Daryl. You know, I didn’t even come here planning to change, but being around Dale and Jen gave me something to aim for.”

“So, you’re gonna be, like a counsellor or something?”

“Maybe I could get a student loan and do some night classes while I work here. It would be a cool thing to do, right?”

“You’d be good at it.”

“Yeah?”

“Sure, why not?”

“I guess so,” Merle smiled. “Anyway, I better get to bed.”

“Yeah, Jen’s bed,” Daryl smirked.

/

Merle crawled in next to Jen that night feeling like anything was possible, he had so much hope for the future now.

“Hey, babe.”

“Hey.”

“I see that therapist tomorrow,” she yawned.

“The woman Dale suggested?”

“Yep.”

“From what I hear, my dad is actually sticking to rehab.”

“Do you think you could ever forgive him?”  
“I don’t know…I hate him mostly for what he did to Daryl, so it’s hard to say. I don’t want to believe that anyone is beyond hope, but it’s hard to believe he could be different than he is.”

“The world is a crazy place, but I’m so grateful that I found you, Merle. You changed me for the better…I can feel love now, I feel safe.”

“We can make this work, Jen. Me and you could really make it last, I don’t want anyone but you.”

“Oh, Merle…come here.”

Merle thought back to his first day at the cabin as he made love to her, they were both such different people only a few weeks before.

The future was going to bring so many new challenges and rewards and Merle Dixon was ready for it. Daryl was safe and they both had partners for love and support. The cabin felt like a magical place in many ways, it was a place to be reborn, a place to start over. Merle was going to pay it forward to the next group of kids to show up there, he was going to show them the light.

 

 


End file.
